Town boosts Active Transportation with more pedestrian and cycle paths Oakville Town council gave a green light to the 2016 Active Transportation Capital Program at Monday's council meeting. It billed the move as one that just made getting around Oakville on foot or by bike even easier -- by significantly adding to the pedestrian and cycle paths throughout town. "Council and I are proud to be adding 28 kilometres to the plan's existing 185 km of pedestrian and cycling paths in town," Mayor Rob Burton said. "We are committed to providing residents and visitors with convenient and healthy alternatives to get around Oakville." By the end of 2016, implementation of more than 28 km of new cycling and pedestrian paths will have started for a number of different uses. Among the projects approved for 2016 are on-road cycle lanes along Bristol Circle around the entire length of Winston Park Boulevard; and along Winston Park Boulevard between Dundas Street and Bristol Circle. Also included are off-road, multi-use trails -- along Cornwall Road, between Chartwell and Morrison roads, and along both sides of Dundas Street, between Neyagawa and Oak Park boulevards. Sidewalks will also come on-stream along Cornwall Road, from Chartwell to Morrison roads; Wedgewood Drive, from Constance Drive to Devon Road; Constance Drive, from Wedgewood to Maple Grove drives; Trafalgar Road over the QEW overpass; and, on Upper Middle Road at Ninth Line. Signed bike routes will be added along sections of Arrowhead and Devon roads, Hixon and Jones streets, Lees Lane, Linbrook and Pinegrove roads, Pinery Crescent, Rockingham and Sandwell drives, Sedgewick Crescent, and Warminster, Woodhaven Park, Yolanda and Sunset drives. To encourage participation in cycling as an alternate mode of transportation, the Town will increase the number of bike racks/rings on the side streets in downtown Oakville and continue with its bike corral pilot project within the three BIAs. Town staff will put resources to public education and outreach projects, such as the Cycle, Walk Oakville web-based and hard copy maps, and encourage participation in the Active and Sustainable School Transportation program. A final major initiative for 2016 will be to continue the review and assessment of the entire existing active transportation network in order to develop a larger scale capital rehabilitation program to ensure paths and trails remain in good condition. Completion of the multi-use trail rehabilitation along Rebecca Street from Third to Fourth lines, as well as a review and rehabilitation of the multi-use trail along the south side of Upper Middle Road from Third Line to the Smith Triller Viaduct will also continue this year. Funding comes from several sources including annual capital budget for new facilities, other capital budgets relating to road projects, sidewalk and multi-use trail budget, and capital maintenance budget for existing facilities. The Active Transportation Master Plan was introduced in 2009 and since then a total of 185 km of bike lanes, pathways and signed bike routes were implemented, as well as 110 bike racks across the town. 5 | Friday, February 5, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Today's School for Tomorrow's World www.GlenburnieSchool.com Glenburnie School OPEN HOUSE Wednesdays 9am Preschool - Grade 8 2035 Upper Middle Rd. East at Ford Drive,Oakville (905) 338-6236 Voted Best Financial Planner & Best Investment Company DIAMOND From your friends at Oakville United Taxi Jennifer Watson and Peter Watson www.oakvilleunitedtaxi.com 905.338.0044 220 Randall Street, Downtown Oakville 905-842-2100 peterwatsoninvestments.com