Last night at Town Council, the Town of Essex formally announced their recent Bronze Friendly Community designation — the first municipality in Essex County to achieve this prestigious recognition.
The award was first announced by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition at its annual Ontario Bike Summit in Toronto earlier this month. The Town of Essex was one of only three communities to receive this designation which speaks to the hard work the Town has been doing to achieve the award’s stringent requirements.
Municipalities are judged in five categories: Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Encouragement, and Evaluation & Planning. Share the Road noted the Town’s ongoing partnership with the County Wide Active Transportation Strategy as well as significant investments in cycle-friendly infrastructure and recreation programming.
Can-Bike instructors from Bike Windsor Essex will be running Children’s Bike Safety Rodeos this summer and training the Town of Essex’s recreational staff this spring — contributing to the education component of the Bike Friendly recognition.
Meanwhile, CWATS recently announced it will be investing $6M in 2019 for bike lanes and trails to build on the tremendous growth in cycling across Essex County. CWATS installed the first Pedestrian Cross Over in the County at Walker and Highway 3 to provide added safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Learn more about how to use a PXO here.
Mark your calendars for the 2019 CWATS Celebration at the Essex Civic Centre Friday, June 14 – there will be a Children’s Bike Safety Rodeo and a Family Glow Roll.