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Your input wanted on making active transportation in Salmon Arm better

Safety can be key to preventing residents from embracing cycling, walking, other active pursuits
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Urban Systems Ltd is currently studying active transportation in Salmon Arm to determine what works well and what barriers exist. (File photo)

If you would like to provide input on active transportation in the city – that’s human-powered transportation – the time is right.

Following in the footsteps of the city’s active transportation task force created more than a year ago, the city has begun the process of creating an active transportation network plan.

Urban Systems Ltd., which is spearheading the project, opened a survey on April 6 that will remain open until April 25. The survey can be found on the city’s ‘Connect Salmon Arm’ website at: www.connectsalmonarm.ca. It contains an interactive map, so comments can also be placed at specific locations in the city.

The city states the goal is to pave the way for a “safe, accessible, age-friendly, inclusive active transportation” network for people of all ages and abilities that can be used year-round.

The city describes active transportation as any human-powered mode of transportation such as walking, cycling, skateboarding or using a wheelchair. They can be used in concert with public transit.

One of the first steps will be learning how residents use sidewalks, trails, etc., what obstacles there are, what works well, and more.

Coun. Tim Lavery, who has been spearheading the task force with Mayor Alan Harrison, said a key issue is safety. He said more people would engage in more active transportation if it felt safer – and there are all types of ways to make it safer.

“The questions are, where to start, what are some quick wins, what should be the interim goals and longer-term goals.”

He said the master plan will be a combination of what residents think, what research there is and what Urban Systems’ experience as a leader in active transportation planning suggests.

Lavery said the timing is right because more and more residents are using and expressing their interest in active transportation. The city has also been saving funds to be able to create a master plan.

As well as the online survey, paper copies are available at city hall, 500 2nd Ave. NE.

Read more: Salmon Arm moves toward active transportation for many more residents

Read more: Salmon Arm to apply for funds for multi-use path from high school to RCMP building



Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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