Spring is right around the bend! If you haven’t been cycling over the winter, most of you are now itching to get your bike bike out.

But even with snow still on the ground, the SCU has been busy with a number of initiatives. Read on for info on what’s coming up in the next few months, and an update on what’s transpired in March.

Also, a reminder that our next general meeting will be held on April 1, 2014 at 7 pm at reThink Green on Larch St.

We’ll be discussing the Second Avenue reconstruction campaign, and deciding on other advocacy initiatives that we want to do in the spring. We’ll also continue the discussion about the municipal election survey we want to put in place.

General updates:

• If you’re thinking about getting your bike out in the next few weeks, remember to make sure that it’s road-worthy. For a quick checklist on what to check on you bike before you start riding, read this good Momentum Magazine’s Tune-up checklist. This year, the SCU is again planning to hold a spring tune-up BBQ. We’ll be sending out notices once the date has been finalized.
• Rainbow Routes is updating their popular trail map for 2014. They’re looking for input to find out how you use the map, what you like about it and what you’d like to see in the future. This survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete. Visit their online survey here: http://j.mp/1ffvmaQ. This survey will close on Friday, April 11, 2014.
• The Transportation Study has been delayed – again. Now the word is “hopefully April”. It’s now more than 1 1/2 years late according to the first project schedule that was released in January 2012.
• The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has released its final version of the Ontario Traffic Manual Book 18: Cycling Facilities. This is the “bible” that is used to guide how cycling infrastructure is implemented by transportation engineers.
• The bike racks will soon be put up on our city buses. Don’t forget that you can use the Rack and Roll program on most city buses, and that the City is planning on equipping all buses once the new city garage is operational. In order to help with finding out bus schedules, the Friends of Sudbury Transit have put up transit maps on their website showing routes, stops, and schedules.
• The Provincial government announced long-awaited changes to the Highway Traffic Act, called the “Keeping Ontario’s Roads Safe Act”. There are a number of items that relate to cycling on Ontario roads. See more details here.
• The SCU is now partnering with the City of Greater Sudbury and the Sudbury & District Health Unit to continue the great work started by the Sudbury Cycles project under the previous guidance of the Rainbow Routes Association. Look for bike exchanges, cycling workshops and more from this great collaborative! See our new website here: Sudbury Cycles

Upcoming Events

• SCU will be at Earthday on April 26, from 10 am to 5 pm at Sacred Heart / Sacré Coeur Secondary School on Notre-Dame Ave. Come spend some time with us!
• The Ontario Bike Summit is being held in Toronto, April 14-15. See details here.
• A reminder that the SCU will be helping at the yearly Bike Exchanges May 10 and May 31 from 10 am to 4 pm. These popular events are now being run by the Sudbury Cyclescollaborative. We still need volunteers to help with registering bikes, fitting helmets, and doing minor or major bike repairs. If you can come out for a few hours, let us know.
• More info on various cycling activities over the next few months is located on our Events page on our website.

Advocacy

• The SCU submitted a letter to Council about the Second Avenue reconstruction. We and other community groups advocated for separated cycling infrastructure along this road that sees 10,500 to 15,000 average daily traffic volumes. We also made numerous phone calls and sent personal emails to Councillors. We now hear that the City has changed their plans and is now installing separated cycling infrastructure – from Donna Avenue all the way to Bancroft Avenue. Apparently the City was very “surprised” by the amount of feedback that was generated – in particular about their plans to implement sharrows and to remove the pedestrian crosswalk. They are still planning on putting in 5 lanes of traffic on the north section, but this is not yet a dead issue for residents and concerned taxpayers. Thanks to everyone who took the time to express their opinions!
• The SCU submitted a letter in regards to the new 4-lane highway 17 that is being built from Sudbury to Markstay and on highway 69 from the Estaire road interchange to highway 17. Our view is that ALL new provincial construction must provide safe cycling options.
• The “letter to the editor” workshop hosted by the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury a few weeks ago was very successful and several of our members attended. If you’re interested in knowing more about good practices to make sure your letter gets published, let us know!

Next meeting

Our next meeting is April 1, 2014, 7 pm at reThink Green on Larch Street. To see the notes from the last meeting, see the Meetings page on our website.

Agenda:

1. Advocacy: Second Avenue and next campaigns
2. Election survey
3. Recruitment, communication and PR – next steps
4. Next meeting: May 6, 2014
5. Other business