A brand-new coalition wants provincial funding earmarked for bikeways.
The Nova Scotia Bikeways Coalition, which was launched during a bicycle summit in Annapolis Valley in May, wants bicycling to be more accessible in Nova Scotia.
“Already 50 per cent of Nova Scotians have bicycles, with fully 90 per cent of youth owning bicycles so clearly we have the constituency who would use bikeways,” said coalition chair Scott MacPhee in a release.
The coalition wants specific funding for rails, bike lanes, and shared routes throughout the province.
“In other jurisdictions, bikeways have been found to have significant economic benefits as well. Quebec has created more than 2,000 jobs with its 4,200 kilometres of bikeways, from bike shops to increased local spending and tourism,” said Friedemann Brauer, a Bicycle Nova Scotia board member.
The coalition is made up of a number of recreational cycling clubs, bicycle-related businesses as well as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Ecology Action Centre, and others.
