Bike paths, trails, walkways: Canada unveils first-ever ‘active transportation’ fund

By Mia Robson, Global News, Mar 13, 2021

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says for the first time Canada is to have a pool of money dedicated specifically to “active transportation.”

The National Active Transportation Fund, $400 million to be spent over five years, will nearly quadruple the amount of money Canada spent over the last five years building and upgrading bike paths, pedestrian walkways and bridges, and nature trails.

About $130 million has been spent since 2015 on 126 projects, including a new footbridge in Ottawa

Buckles: Delay approval of Ottawa's Official Plan until municipal election

By Daniel Buckles, Mar 17, 2021

'On Friday, March 12, a door into Ottawa’s new Official Plan closed. That was the formal deadline for comments on the draft tabled by city staff in November, 2020, a deadline extended by a month at the request of community organizations. By the fall of 2021, a new draft will come before council committees and make its way to council for what is intended to be a final vote.

Over the last month alone, dozens of community-based groups, concerned that the city is not going far and fast enough on climate and social justice issues, have been meeting, strategizing and writing to staff and councillors. Many are deeply disturbed by the content of the plan.'

Ottawa will look at buying more electric buses in light of $2.75 billion federal funding promise

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen

'The city announced last year it would acquire four 40-foot battery-powered New Flyer buses in 2021 to assess how they work on Transpo’s network, starting in the fall. The $9.3-million purchase, which includes the infrastructure required to charge the buses, has $6 million coming from the city and $3.3 million from the federal government.

But even before those four buses arrive in Ottawa, Watson is bullish on significantly expanding Transpo’s electric-bus fleet and removing diesel buses from the transit network.'

Road salt levels in some local creeks toxic to aquatic life, says riverkeeper

By CBC News Ottawa

The amount of road salt that people, businesses, and cities are using over the winter is likely too much and is definitely hurting local waterways, according to the Ottawa Riverkeeper.

The organization began monitoring how much road salt is making its way into local creeks last winter as part of its road salt monitoring pilot project.

Shared snowmobile-pedestrian trail 'a recipe for disaster,' says group

By Nicole Williams, CBC News

A group of people living in Lanark County are calling for changes to the Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail that would see snowmobiles and all other motorized traffic redirected elsewhere because of excessive speeding.

David Frisch, spokesperson for the group Lanark Residents for Safe Trails, said the creation of a recreational trail "where you put passive users and motorized users [side-by-side] is a recipe for disaster."

 

Millennials are demanding responsible investments, and big finance is listening

By Brenda Bouw, McLeans, Feb 11, 2021

"A recent RBC Global Asset Management study shows about three-quarters of Canadians believe responsible investment portfolios “are the way of the future.” What’s more, 81 per cent of respondents believe these investments offer the same or better market returns than traditional investing. The results go against a perception that responsible investing means sacrificing returns. '

Six in ten users of pop-up bike lanes in Paris are new to cycling, says city’s government

By Simon McMichael, Road.cc, February 4, 2021

Majority of French capital’s residents want the temporary infrastructure, which has encouraged particularly strong growth in the number of women cycling, to be made permanent by Simon_MacMichael Thu, Feb 04, 2021 20:41 8

New cyclists account for almost six in ten users of pop-up cycle lanes in Paris, installed first in response to a public transport strike last winter with the network subsequently enlarged due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures from the city’s government.

The temporary cycle lanes, many of them on key roads in the heart of the French capital, including Rue de Rivoli as shown in the video below, and other policies aimed at reducing car dependency and fighting climate change, became a key battleground in Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s successful campaign for re-election last year.

Plant-based diets critical to wildlife preservation: report

By Damian Carrington, National Observer

The global food system is the biggest driver of destruction of the natural world, and a shift to predominantly plant-based diets is crucial in halting the damage, according to a report.

Agriculture is the main threat to 86 per cent of the 28,000 species known to be at risk of extinction, the report by the Chatham House think tank said. Without change, the loss of biodiversity will continue to accelerate and threaten the world’s ability to sustain humanity, it said.

 

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/02/05/news/plant-based-diets-critical-wildlife-preservation-report

 

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