Pedestrian infrastructure improvements and outreach initiatives are being launched at middle schools in Coquitlam in an effort to encourage more students to walk or bike to school.
Needs assessments have been conducted at all eight middle schools in the city and include everything from new sidewalks, curb extensions and street lights to improve walking accessibility and safety.
Best Routes to School travel maps have been handed out at Sir Frederick Banting, Scott Creek, Summit and Hillcrest while the maps for Maillard, Montgomery, Como Lake and Maple Creek will be distributed in the spring.
Dan Mooney, the city’s manager of transportation, said the effort is part of the city’s goal of achieving an increase in walking, cycling and transit from the current 18% of all trips to 30% by 2031.
The effort to encourage more people to walk and bike for their trips extends beyond the city’s middle schools.
Close to 2 km of sidewalks were added to the city’s inventory of 550 km during the 2016 construction year while 1.8 km of bike-route infrastructure were also built throughout the municipality.
The two largest projects were the off-street bike routes along Pinetree Way and Johnson Street; on-street bike routes are expected for Shaughnessy Street and the Barnet Highway in 2017.
@gmckennaTC
