Skip to content

Active transportation conference making tracks to New West

British Columbia’s first-ever provincewide active transportation conference is making its way to New Westminster.

British Columbia’s first-ever provincewide active transportation conference is making its way to New Westminster.

The British Columbia Cycling Coalition is hosting the June 17/18 summit, in conjunction with the anticipated release of the province’s first-ever active transportation strategy. The conference aims to bring together planners, engineers and experts from local and provincial governments, industry, non-profits and academia to explore how to make active transportation for pedestrians, disabled people and cyclists an essential part of all communities across B.C.

“The ​B.C. Active Transportation Summit will focus on helping communities find ways to enable everyone to use active transportation year-round for their daily trips,” Richard Campbell, executive director of the B.C. Cycling Coalition, said in a press release. “The new provincial strategy will be incredibly important to making walking, rolling, and cycling more convenient for everyone. We’re so excited to be able to host this event in the anticipation of this new plan, soon to be fully released, which will ultimately set the tone for B.C.’s future.”

More than 200 people are expected to attend the two-day conference at Anvil Centre, where they’ll attend presentations on topics like inclusive active transportation and cities. Panel discussions will be held on a variety of issues, including breaking down barriers to active transportation, and interactive workshops will tackle topics like active transportation for all ages.

The Walkers Caucus will be leading 30-minute walking tours each day of the downtown and Westminster Pier Park.

Speakers at the June 17 and 18 conference include: Claire Trevena, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure; North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma, parliamentary secretary for TransLink; Barbara Chamberlain, active transportation director for Washington State; and Robin Mazumder, Vanier Canada graduate scholar from the University of Waterloo.

According to the Government of Canada, active transportation refers to ways of getting around using your own power, such as walking, biking, skateboarding or rollerblading.

For more details on the summit, go to www.atsummit.ca.

The City of New Westminster’s master transportation plan, adopted in 2015, includes plans of creating a walkable community that ensures walking is a safe, convenient and universally accessible way to get around the city. Another goal is to make cycling a comfortable and attractive way to move throughout the city for people of all ages and abilities.