Active Transportation in Wolfville and Windsor

The Pathways for People Active Transportation Tour is coming to the Annapolis Valley to encourage people to walk and wheel around town. The tour promotes the value of active transportation in improving people's health and physical activity, and the community's air quality and traffic congestion.

"The active transportation tour is empowering communities to help people be more active -- a lifestyle change that each of us can make," said Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald. "Student groups and community groups are working together to help more people become active, healthy, and to protect their community's environment."

Two-thirds of Nova Scotians are not active enough to achieve health benefits. Active transportation -- walking, biking or using other modes of non-motorized travel for trips within the community - can make a difference.

The tour will focus on youth and challenge communities to increase active ways to travel. During May and June the tour visited Yarmouth, Tusket, Shelburne, Lockeport, Bridgewater, Mahone Bay and Chester. In September they visited Glace Bay and Sydney. Visits included public forums and meetings with schools, youth groups and community decision makers. Each community received a Tool Kit of best practice guides and reference materials. Similar tour stops are planned in other parts of the province in November.

Events already held in Wolfville include Wolfville School's walking school bus, held Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, and the Acadia Environmental Society hosted a panel and discussion titled You Can't Eat Cars, on Oct. 8.

"It has been wonderful to have our Acadia Environmental Society working with many partners to bring awareness to active, sustainable transportation," said Cate Trueman, an Acadia University student and an organizer of the Wolfville events. "Working together on these initiatives has really helped build connections between Acadia students and the surrounding community, and the response we have received from community members has been very enthusiastic and encouraging."

Additional events for the Valley will take place in Wolfville on Saturday, Oct. 18, and in Windsor on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Saturday's events include:

• 11 a.m. -- bike decorating; Wolfville Recreation Centre, King Street;
• 1 p.m. -- Active Transportation Parade (in conjunction with Homecoming Parade); leaves from Willow Park, down Main Street to Raymond Field.

Wednesday's events take place at the Windsor Community Centre and include:

• 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. -- presentation on the benefits of active transportation
• 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. -- walk and bike around the town
• 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. -- discussion and lunch

"There are many active people already in the Town of Windsor but we hope that through addressing barriers and exploring opportunities in the town, that even more people will choose walking instead of driving," said Tracy Burgess, community recreation programmer with the Town of Windsor. "We want to be a town whose residents most often choose active ways of getting around."

Remaining tour stops will be in Annapolis, Pictou, Inverness and Antigonish counties.

The Pathways for People Active Transportation Tour is part of Active Community Environments, a component of the Active Kids, Healthy Kids strategy. Active Community Environments will receive $208,000 in funding over three years from the Active Kids, Healthy Kids strategy, the Federal Diabetes Strategy and the Climate Change Action Fund. The Pathways for People Active Transportation Tour is a partnership between the Office of Health Promotion, the Ecology Action Centre and Youth for Environmental Action.

For more information and tour dates, visit www.gov.ns.ca/src/pathways .

NOTE: Following are three examples of active transportation programs taking place in the Annapolis Valley.

Wolfville Walking School Buses Just in time for International Walk to School Day on Oct. 8, Wolfville School launched two Walking School Buses involving up to 35 students. Parents and some students from nearby Acadia University take turns supervising students on their trek to school. A Walking School Bus is an innovative way of getting students out of their parents' vehicles, exercising and staying safe as they travel to school. It also alleviates traffic congestion around the school and reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Enthusiastic volunteers organizing the buses plan to run them on the first Wednesday of each month during fair-weather months. Their hope is that eventually it will become a weekly activity and that it will encourage more students to walk to school on a regular basis.

Acadia University Car-free campus 100 year plan
Acadia University in Wolfville has set a 100 year plan to become a car-free campus. The goal is to make Acadia a pedestrian- oriented campus by moving parking lots to the perimeter and enhancing the walking experience on campus. Ideas for this include landscaping, improving lighting and infilling (building new buildings between existing ones).

Windsor is Walking Program The Town of Windsor is challenging residents to get out walking around the town. In early fall, participants signed up as part of a 50, 100, 150 or 200 km walking club. During October and November they will walk to meet their goal. The program will end with a series of prizes and a draw for those who were successful. The town is also offering healthy and active living workshops for this group and others, such as stretching and healthy eating.