● Second National Bike Summit to take place in Ottawa on May 28-29, 2018

The second National Bike Summit will take place in Ottawa on Monday and Tuesday, May 28-29, 2018. The actual meeting will be held at the Ottawa City Hall with related activities on Parliament Hill.

According to the organizers, the objective of the Summit is to demonstrate the need and importance of federal leadership to advance everyday cycling in Canada, to mobilize cycling stakeholders to work together, and to meet with Parliamentarians and elected officials from all levels of government to discuss cycling.

The subjects of the various presentations at the summit will include:

    • Vision for a Bike and Active Transportation (AT) Friendly Canada;
    • Visionary mayors and city councillors who are building cycling infrastructure;
    • All Ages and Abilities Cycling Panel;
    • Cycling and Low Carbon Tourism in Canada;
    • Trails and Rural Cycling Infrastructure;
    • Safety and Vulnerable Road Users;
    • Success Stories;
    • Cycle Logistics and Data Collection;
    • The Role of the Federal Government;
    • Evidence to Action: evidence-based cycling and active transportation policy making;
    • Why everyday Canadians should vote Bike;
    • Debunking Myths about Barriers to Cycling in Canada; and
    • Coordinating cycling and active transportation advocacy in Canada for collective action.

The cost for attending the Summit is $350, but people registering before April 15 will save $50. There are also discounted prices for non-profit organizations and students.

Organizers are hoping the summit will attract representatives from local and provincial cycling organizations, stakeholders in the health and environment sectors, officials from municipal, provincial, and federal governments, academics and students conducting research on cycling and urban mobility, and people involved in transportation and tourism, as well as outdoor and sports industries.

The summit is being organized by “ Velo Canada Bikes“, a national cycling advocacy organization. It bills itself as Canada’s only national voice for commuter, recreational, and touring cycling. One of its main objective is to get the federal government to adopt a national cycling strategy and cycling infrastructure fund.

Full Disclosure: I joined the Board of the Velo Canada Bikes last fall. I should also mentioned that I have never been a big fan of charging substantial registration fees for these types of events. However, Velo Canada Bikes is a relatively young organization that has no regular source of funding. It survives entirely on membership fees, donations, and whatever sponsorship money it can get. Given this situation, it was felt that it was necessary to charge a registration fee to ensure the sustainability of the organization and the annual summit meetings.

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