Council will consider a new committee focused on active transportation and replacing the existing trails committee at its meetings this month.
A staff report from the parks, recreation, and culture department recommends council establish a new active transportation committee as per one of the recommendations in the town’s cycling plan, which was released In October, 2019.
“The demand for active transportation in our community has directed staff to focus on the development of on-road and off-road active transportation routes to encourage cycling and other non-motorized means of travel,” states the staff report. “Active transportation encompasses more than recreational trails, it also focuses on on-road routes which involve the expertise of public works and engineering, as well as healthy living and inclusion.”
The cycling plan recommends the active transportation committee assist with implementation of the cycling plan by providing advice and recommendations to town staff and council on cycling-related matters.
Staff are recommending the new committee replace the Collingwood Trails Advisory Committee, which has existed for more than 20 years, and involves a network of volunteers who maintain local recreational trails and advise staff and council on trail matters such as location, type, signage, maintenance, and off-road routes.
Trail captains adopt sections of the trail and regularly travel along the route to clean up trash and fallen branches and advise the town of any issues. One volunteer has been placing trail counters in various locations and compiling the usage data for the town.
Others have undergone boardwalk and bridge construction projects.
The trails committee is also responsible for the annual iterations of the Collingwood trail map.
According to the staff report, staff consulted the current trails committee to come up with the mandate for the proposed active transportation committee.
The committee’s mandate is outlined in the staff report, and includes continued stewardship of Collingwood’s trails, recommending new trails and bike lanes, recommending projects for the town’s annual budget, finding alternate funding sources, producing the annual trail map and raise funds to offset printing costs, recruit trail captains, raise awareness of the active transportation network, and provide content to the trails website.
The report further states the work of the committee will be guided by the following principles: “connectivity, integration, accessibility, safety, affordable and flexible, interesting and enjoyable, people-oriented design, communicative and comprehensive planning and design.”
The proposed committee would include seven voting citizen members appointed by council, each with a term no longer than three years.
The staff report and recommendation to replace the trails committee with the active transportation committee will be before the corporate and community services standing committee of council on March 2 and before council on March 16. Both meetings take place at 5 p.m. in the town hall council chambers.
