This article is not a travelogue. My friend Lisa does a much better job than I in capturing the history, architecture, and visuals of her travels. Lisa was one of seven companions who went with Dayle and me to this beautiful and culturally rich country. You can see her posts about the trip at Lisastokes.ca.

What I want to focus on in this article is how the Dutch people, have largely left behind the debate about the reality of climate change and are simply getting on with the job of addressing it. Contrast that with Canada where federal and provincial governments, from both sides of the political spectrum, are rapidly rolling back climate policy and environmental regulations.

The first notable difference between Canada and the Netherlands is that climate is tied to economics rather than environment. The Dutch Ministry responsible for meeting carbon reduction targets is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. There is a recognition that the Dutch economy, as well as its way of life will be severely impacted if emissions reductions specified in the Paris agreement are not met.

As a tourist, Dutch efforts to reduce carbon emissions are both subtle and obvious. The most obvious is the absence of car culture. The bicycle is the primary mode of travel for short-distance trips throughout the Netherlands. In large cities like Amsterdam bicycles account for almost 1 of every 2 trips taken. Public transit, mostly in the form of trams and trains are used for about 8% of trips. The car still dominates for longer-distance travel on major throughways, although there is a reasonably convenient cycling network connecting towns and cities. But facts and statistics do not do justice to the feeling you get travelling in Holland. The volume of bike traffic is almost overwhelming.

The infrastructure is almost always built with the safety and comfort of both cyclists and pedestrians in mind. Within the towns, and on secondary roads, convenience for car drivers is at best a secondary consideration. In Amsterdam, and smaller cities such as Hoorn or Haarlem, separated bike lanes are the norm for any streets that are expected to carry larger volumes of faster moving traffic. Bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks and pedestrians must take the same care in crossing bicycle lanes as they would a lane for cars.

Side streets are often protected by huge bollards that prevent larger vehicles from entering. These bollards lower into the pavement to allow for passage of local, commercial and or safety vehicles and then rise again once the vehicle has passed.

Streets that accommodate all vehicle types are referred to as “woonerf” or living streets. On these streets the cars are considered “guests”, speeds are limited to 30km per hour and cars must yield to cyclists, even if that means travelling at bicycle speed for a kilometre or more.

From an energy standpoint, the message is clear that the Netherlands is committed to renewable energy. Many older style windmills are still functioning to help pump water or grind grains.

Newer technology windmills are almost always in view, whether as part of offshore windfarms or dotting the landscape amongst the farm fields and flowers. Renewables, mostly solar and wind, now generate more than 50% of the country’s electricity needs with the target to achieve 75% by 2030.

Beyond individual transport and energy were other signs of a collective commitment to reducing carbon emissions. Of course we observed many electric vehicles on the road or plugged into local charging stations. But I wasn’t expecting to see a sign on our boat indicating it used 100% biofuel.

And the motors on the Love boat that we took to tour the canals of Amsterdam were 100% electric!

I also noted a reduced amount of plastic packaging in the Jumbo stores where we bought groceries. Most products are wrapped either in cellophane, paper or cardboard, all biodegradable materials. Public recycling bins are everywhere, and they included separation for organic waste.

Climate friendly industries were highly visible as we travelled through the countryside. Here are a couple of examples.

And streets in the Netherlands are cleaner than at home, partly because of the culture, and partly because of the teams of street sweepers which can be regularly seen, especially in Amsterdam’s downtown tourist area.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the Dutch are so eager to embrace actions to address climate change is that the country has a lot to lose if global temperatures surpass the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature change threshold considered safe by the scientific community. Time and place didn’t allow us to see some of the Netherland’s amazing flood management systems but this is another way in which the country is embracing the climate challenge.

More than 30% of the country is below current sea levels requiring an intricate system of polders, (large land areas that have been raised above sea level), dykes, (barriers along the coast to hold the sea off the lower lands), and a series of dams, fixed storm surge barriers and portable flood barriers that self-inflate in the presence of high water levels.

In addition to designing systems that keep water out, they also have infrastructure to strategically let water in to be absorbed into restored marshes and estuaries where it reduces flooding risk while supporting natural ecosystems. See, the YouTube video, How the Dutch Keep the Entire Country from Drowning, for a better understanding of how the Dutch have developed the most sophisticated water defence system in the world.

Despite their engineering prowess, the Netherlands still has significant obstacles to overcome to achieve long-term environmental sustainability. Sea levels are rising. The International Panel on Climate Change assumes a maximum rise of 1 metre by the year 2100. But the rate of rise has almost doubled over the last decade to about 4mm each year. This may be due to ocean warming and melting ice in the Arctic, Antarctic and, Greenland that is happening faster than originally assumed. If sea levels rise by 2 metres or more, Netherlands water defence system would need a complete overhaul to prevent catastrophic flooding.

Also, the Netherlands is not on track to achieve its target to reduce carbon emissions by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. The government’s environmental assessment agency suggests that reductions of between 45% and 53% are more likely based on current performance. That is similar to Canada’s target of 40-45% reduction based on 2005 levels. But reports suggest that Canada’s target for 2030 is also at risk, suggesting 21-28% is a more likely scenario. And Canada’s per capita emissions are more than 2X the Netherland’s and more than 3X the global average. So we here in Canada have a lot to learn from our Dutch cousins. They have left us with big shoes to fill!

Oh, and by the way, the flowers were spectacular!

It’s hard for me not to take this personally. My wife Dayle and I started BikeBrampton 13 years ago to encourage the city to build an active transportation network that would offer a safe, convenient and relatively comfortable alternative to the car for short-distance trips. Until last week, it’s been slow but reasonably steady progress. Over the past decade or so, the city has created a subdepartment under planning for active transportation. It hired an active transportation specialist and supporting staff. An active transportation master plan was created and unanimously passed by Council in 2019. That plan outlined a connected network of pathways, sidewalks and bike lanes across the entire city that would be built out over 20 years.

The plan also outlined the compelling reasons why cycling must be an important element in the city’s long-term transportation strategy. The traffic demand management experts have done the calculations and determined we are in big trouble if the historical growth in the use of cars continues, particularly for single occupancy vehicles. As the city’s population tips over 1 million residents in the next few years, Brampton will not only run out of road space, it will run out of space to build roads unless a higher percentage of people choose transportation alternatives other than the personal automobile. Straight and simple. If we want to avoid traffic chaos and road related carnage both now and in the future, more people must choose transit, walking, cycling, and micro mobility for short-distance travel.

Encouraging people to walk, cycle or jump on transit starts with giving them the confidence that, if they choose a mode of travel other than the car, they can still get to their destinations, conveniently, and in relative safety and comfort. There are many aspects to what it takes to create this confidence. But table stakes is for the city to build a network that is as comprehensive as the existing road system while limiting interaction between motorists and vulnerable road users such as cyclists.

Sidewalks serve this purpose for pedestrians. They are physically separated from faster moving traffic and are reasonably comprehensive in allowing walkers to get from home to destinations that are maximum 1-2 km away. Adult cyclists cannot use sidewalks. For one thing it is illegal do so in Brampton. And sidewalks are not designed for bicycles travelling faster than about 12 kilometers an hour. Mixing pedestrians and fast-moving utilitarian cyclists is not a good idea. Safety becomes an issue on this type of facility the faster you go. For this reason, multi-use paths are also not a valid option for cyclists or e-scooters wanting to get somewhere quickly and conveniently.

Bicycles are allowed to use the road. But the speed variance between bicycles and cars leads to potential conflicts and safety issues. Depending on the speed and volume of traffic on the road, it also reduces the comfort level for cyclists meaning most people will not ride even if they want to.

Dedicated bicycle lanes provide a cost-effective and reasonably safe alternative. Installing a separated bicycle path in the boulevard can cost 5 to 50 times as much per kilometer compared to on-street bike lanes. And, bike lanes only need to be installed along certain roads of the network to provide key connectivity allowing cyclists to travel to virtually any part of the city in relative safety.

In 2020, just as COVID hit, the city introduced the “Streets for People” program which started in earnest to build out the network described in the active transportation master plan. Perhaps the most important connection in the plan is the east-west cycling corridor encompassing, Vodden, Howden, North Park, Central Parkway, and Cottrelle once the bridge across the Bayridge Valley is complete. This stretch of road midway between Queen and Bovaird runs almost the full width of the city. It uses collector roads that were historically “over-engineered” so that bike lanes could be used as a traffic calming measure to reduce speeding and aggressive driving behaviour. It connects the three major pathways that run north and south through Brampton’s rivers valleys. It also connects residential areas to literally hundreds of destinations, areas for recreation employment and commercial activities. This section of roadway is uniquely suited to act as the spine for active transportation across the city.

Unfortunately, change inevitably is met with resistance. Even though cycling usage has increased significantly in recent years, motorists still saw the bike lanes as being mostly empty. They became frustrated with the loss of road space for automobiles, There was particular frustration at intersections where there was no longer a dedicated lane for right-hand turners. With road construction on Williams and Dixie that encouraged more cut-through traffic along Howden, residents became increasingly upset. They demanded action

Last summer, Council directed staff to analyze several options. After conducting numerous public feedback sessions and reviewing the data, staff recommended an option that would maintain the bike lanes along most of the road section but move those lanes into the boulevard at the intersections allowing for dedicated right and left-hand turns for motorists. A cost-effective and reasonable compromise which would help alleviate resident concerns while still maintaining this key piece of infrastructure for cyclists.

Here is my frustration. With the exception of one, Council, fueled by the resident anger, determined they were not prepared to support this compromise, or any compromise for that matter. The only thing that would satisfy them was complete removal of this section of the Howden bike lanes, which threatens to render the active transportation master plan useless.

I started riding my bike primarily for environmental reasons. In Brampton, transportation represents the largest source of carbon emissions. I’m very concerned about climate change, (as should we all be). Dayle and I had taken the usual steps to reduce our carbon footprint, changing light-bulbs, increasing insulation, sealing doors and windows, etc. There are very few things that we as individuals can do to address the climate crisis. I was looking for more, and riding my bike to short-distance destinations seemed like a good way for me to help the planet while staying in shape at the same time.

Brampton has the potential to be bicycle friendly. We are a suburb yes, but we are also a city of close to a million people while enjoying extraordinary population growth. Most of our trips taken by car are less than 5km. Cycling changes the environmental fabric of the city. It allows us to grow up not out and in a healthier, less polluting way that connects to our communities and encourages support for local businesses.

It’s time we all decided what kind of city we want to live in, today and in the future. If you care about this issue, (and you should); if you care about your future and the future of your children, (and I’m sure you do), then write your councillors and tell them you support active transportation. Tell them you support bike lanes!

The BEA has been fortunate to receive funding from the TRCA each year, since 2022, for delivery of projects within the Bramalea SNAP area. Cindy Evans has been the BEA lead for for the past 2 years. This year, however, the project was split in two with half the deliverables in 2025 and the rest to be delivered in 2026.

Cindy Evans is a tireless advocate for safer streets. When she isn’t practicing her art or music, Cindy loves riding her bicycle, not just in her Bramalea neighbourhood, but throughout the city. She has also cycled throughout Ontario and in Europe. She loves sharing her experience and expertise while giving back to her community. Cindy is a member of the Active Transportation Advisory Committee which provides advice and guidance to Brampton Council on issues related to human powered travel, primarily walking and cycling. She is also a member of BikeBrampton and the Brampton Environmental Alliance (BEA).

A focus area of Cindy’s project this year and next is to build on one of the SNAP goals -to encourage active transportation in the E, F and K sections of Bramalea while fostering a safe, connected community of students who ride their bikes to school.

Spring audits of Bramalea Secondary School and Earnscliffe Senior Public School demonstrated that, despite lack of on street cycling infrastructure, 28-32 secondary students and 17-19 middle school students were riding to school on a regular basis. Cindy’s project aimed at improving the safety of student and community bicycle riders.

She did this by first recruiting four youth leaders who were taught bike safety basics over 5 sessions in July and August with the help of experienced adult trainers. Next she organized a free bike repair pop-up at Bramalea Secondary School with the help of the Brampton Bike Hub operated by Punjabi Community Health Services (PCHS). There participants were shown how to do basic bike repair and maintenance.

Finally, with permission from the administration, she helped students at Earnscliffe start a Bike Club, . Helmets were distributed to those students without, (including customized helmets for Sikh boys donated by Bold Helmets a Brampton based manufacture of specialized helmets). Bells were installed, tires were inflated, and brakes checked on all student bikes at each of 4 Bike Club Meetings. Middle school bike club members were mentored, by the youth leaders, on bike skills and safety techniques. Each session ended with a short neighbourhood ride on trails and roads.

Bike Club 2025 ended in November with a route planning workshop using paper and Google maps. Students who attended 3 or more Bike Club sessions were given rechargeable rear lights upon completing a short paper questionnaire.

A benefit of this grant being split into two years is that the Bike Club will restart at the end of April 2026. Cindy plans to create bike repair and cycling events to encourage more students to safely experience the joys of riding to school and having fun with their neighbourhood friends.

The study supports the City’s transition to a more sustainable urban design approach where the focus is on moving people comfortably, safely and efficiently through the use of various transportation modes including walking, cycling, and transit in addition to cars.

This revised approach aligns better with Brampton’s adoption of a Complete Streets policy where streets are safe and accessible for all users, regardless of their age, ability, or transportation mode choice. Complete streets are designed to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars and encourage compact walkable communities with mixed-use developments (residential/commercial) that are close to transit.

This change of approach is driven by the reality that it is not possible to build sufficient road space to accommodate projected traffic volumes if the population grows as forecasted and if personal automobiles continue as the option of choice for the vast majority of transportation trips. The only way to address traffic congestion is to make more efficient use of our roads by encouraging people to use transit and active transportation, (walking, cycling, e-bikes/scooters, etc.), especially for short and medium distance trips.

Changing transportation habits has many ancillary benefits.

• HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES – Communities are healthier because physical activity becomes part of daily living.
• STREETS ARE SAFER – Average traffic speeds are slower meaning streets are safer for all road users with fewer collisions, serious injuries and deaths.
• STREETS ARE MORE EFFICIENT – Reduced traffic speed does not necessarily mean longer transit times. Lower traffic speeds can actually improve traffic flow by reducing sudden braking and the incident of crashes.
• GOOD FOR BUSINESS – The local economy flourishes. People have more disposable income because they are not spending so much on cars, gas, and maintenance. Compact communities also encourage shopping locally so more dollars stay with the local economy.
• BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT – Carbon emissions and pollutants are dramatically reduced because there are fewer cars on the road.

Achieving these benefits means that, by 2041, 50% of the morning and afternoon peak trips period transportation trips will need to be by a mode other than single occupancy vehicles. That’s down from 65% today. Changing transportation habits requires streets to be more approachable and accessible with trees and other landscaping features that reduce noise, filter the air, and provide shade, make walking and cycling more pleasant and generally making the streets beautiful. Streets must also be designed to improve road safety for vulnerable road users, meaning narrower streets, slower average speeds, and safety improvements such as refuge islands and clear sight-lines.

We are still a few years away from completion, but this is this type of road that is being proposed for the Williams Parkway reconstruction from Dixie to Torbram. When complete, this road section will have narrower lanes, 3.0 meter wide multi-use paths on either side, and plenty of landscape amenities to keep us cool and comfortable.

The Etobicoke Creek watershed is highly urbanized with large amounts of hard surfaces and low amounts of natural cover compared with other watersheds in the greater Toronto area. This contributes to issues with flooding, erosion, and negative impacts to both animal and plant habitat. The added stress of further urbanization and climate change impacts will further degrade watershed health unless immediate remediation and mitigation actions are taken.

In that context, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority developed a new watershed plan for the Etobicoke Creek, (ECWP), that was recently approved by the TRCA Board and endorsed by the City of Brampton, Town of Caledon, City of Mississauga, Region of Peel and City of Toronto. The plan’s development was a collaborative activity of the above municipalities with input from First Nations/Indigenous communities and other stakeholder organizations including the Brampton Environmental Alliance.

The watershed plan was created to inform decision-making over the next 10 years related to land use and climate resiliency policies. The ECWP Vision is that, “the watershed be protected and restored to a cleaner, healthier, and more natural state, to sustain its waterways, ecosystems, and human communities“. The plan includes a management framework consisting of 3 goals, 8 objectives, 10 indicators and 36 actions.

Goal 1 – Achieve sustainable land use and infrastructure development patterns to improve watershed conditions and enhance climate resiliency.

Examples of Goal 1 actions include:

• Adopt green development policies and standards requiring new developments to utilize low impact development and green infrastructure that will reduce impacts of impervious cover,
• Include mitigation measures in the design of highway 413 to eliminate additional flood and erosion risk as well as protection of the Natural Heritage and Water Resource Systems including wildlife connectivity,
• Reduce chlorides entering the watershed through de-icing best practice on public property and through salt management education for private property,
• Update stormwater management criteria to focus on retention and filtration through the use of low impact development (LID) and green infrastructure,

Goal 2 – Protect, enhance, and restore the areas and features that comprise the Water Resource System (including aquatic habitat) for ecosystem resilience and sustainability.

Examples of Goal 2 actions include:

• Use “Evaluation, Classification and Management of Headwater Drainage Features Guidelines” for planning approvals in the Headwaters subwatershed,
• Removal of identified priority barriers to fish movement,
• Identify high risk spill areas and implement effective spill prevention and contingency plans,
• Educate commercial and industrial property owners on maintenance of oil and grit separators and other pollution control infrastructure,
• Participate in research initiatives to identify sources of microplastics and chemicals of concern for management and removal,

Goal 3 – Protect, enhance, and restore the Natural Heritage System and urban forest within the watershed to improve ecosystem resilience and sustainability.

Examples of Goal 3 actions include:

• Increase forest cover to at least 14% of total watershed area, through strategic tree planting,
• Increase wetland cover to at least 3% of total watershed area,
• Increase meadow cover to at least 5% of total watershed area,
• Create a connected and safe active recreation trail network from Lake Ontario to the Headwaters and to neighbouring watersheds while minimizing impacts to the Natural Heritage System (NHS) through
  • proper trail maintenance and signage
  • Education on the importance of NHS protection adjacent to trails,
  • Promoting community stewardship
• Improve wildlife passage at priority road crossings
• Municipal partners to include green development standards including green roofs, bird safe windows, habitat restoration etc.

Realizing the vision will require collaborative implementation of all aspects of the management framework. An Implementation Steering Committee will be responsible for development of a detailed implementation, tracking and reporting plan to hold the TRCA and the municipalities accountable for plan implementation.

It’s clear weather events fueled by a changing climate are having an increasingly devastating impact that hurts the Canadian economy, creates environmental destruction, and causes suffering and hardship to Canadian families across the country. It is also clear that, collectively, we are not doing enough to address the climate crisis.

Last week The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) released its GTHA carbon emissions inventory report for 2023. TAF is a Toronto based, non-partisan, not-for-profit agency with the purpose to help the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA) become net-zero by 2050. TAF has been collecting and analysing emissions data since 2015. and providing recommendations to the 6 GTHA Regions on how they can reduce emissions to meet 2030 targets. These targets are set by each Regional Government and form part of the Canadian Paris Accord commitments . For Brampton, those targets were set as part of the City’s Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan approved by Council in 2019.

Previously TAF reported that carbon emissions in the GTHA decreased by 0.4% in 2019 and 13.4% in 2020, The latter decrease was driven mostly by pandemic impacts to the economy. At that time the 2030 targets could be met by achieving a 7% average annual decrease from 2019-2030. Since then, however, emissions have steadily increased. In 2023 they surpassed pre-pandemic levels rising 2% from 2022 to 54.5 million tons. Meeting 2030 targets now requires annual reductions of 11%.

Peel Region’s emissions grew 2.5% to 11.5 million tons. The per capita rate went down by 1.1% to 7.5 tons per person. That decrease, however, compares unfavourably with Toronto’s 2.6% decrease to 5.2 tons per person, a 44% difference!

For Brampton, transportation and buildings represent the largest emissions by sector. Transportation was up 6% from 2022. It would have been even more except that Brampton also experienced a shift in mode share to active transportation. Cycling trips were up 22% and walking trips were up 14%. Cycling distance increased 17% and walking distance was up 8%. This is notable and contrasts favourably with Mississauga and Caledon where Mississauga saw a decrease in cycling and Caledon’s rate of walking decreased according to the report. See BikeBrampton.ca for more details about changes to active transportation in Brampton.

Emissions from buildings in the GTHA decreased slightly in 2023 mostly related to a warmer than normal winter that reduced natural gas heating requirements. Natural gas consumption details were not available for several municipalities so building emissions can’t be compared at the city level. But positive steps have been taken that should see future decreases in this sector.

For example, along with the other Peel municipalities Brampton has implemented mandatory green development standards for new buildings. Called the Sustainable New Communities Program, it encourages and evaluates sustainability performance of new development projects through a points-based system. Since January 2023, all projects are required to meet the minimum Bronze level standard as well as a “Good” level for building energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions.

In 2022, Brampton created the Centre for Community Energy Transformation (CCET), which is a not-for-profit organization that assists residents and businesses with the tools, education and resources for energy-saving installations and retrofits to existing buildings. CCET was initiated in Brampton but its mandate has expanded to all three Peel municipalities and further expansion plans are in the works. Visit CCET website for more information about home energy retrofits and district energy projects.

The TAF report is cautiously optimistic that 2030 emissions reduction targets can be met. The report noted that emissions from buildings have remained relatively constant while the area has grown by almost a quarter million people. As noted above positive trends were seen in a rise of the use of active transportation, (cycling/walking), the uptake of home energy retrofits, and the normalization of green building standards for new developments.

It is crucial, however, that there is full collaboration amongst all government levels, businesses and citizens to support the necessary policies and associated actions necessary to bend the emissions curve. The report makes recommendations for how that could be achieved. A summary of government recommendations follows:

Recommendations for Federal Government

• Enact Clean Electricity Regulations to ensure a net-zero electrical system across Canada,
• Invest in EV adoption and infrastructure,
• Restrict the use of gas-fired heating equipment,

Recommendations for the Provincial Government

• Prioritize implementation of net-zero electricity supply as opposed to natural gas,
• Remove barriers to local electricity supply by ending the off-shore wind moratorium, extending community net-metering, and double the threshold maximum for micro-generation projects,
• Update the Ontario Building Code to increase minimum standard for building energy efficiency, facilitate EV charging requirements, and provide an update schedule for industry compliance,
• Facilitate EV adoption through purchase incentives, tax credits and or rebates,
• Finance charging system infrastructure in multi-unit dwellings and urban centres

Recommendations for Municipalities

• Enforce and enhance Green Development Standards
• Implement emissions performance standards for existing buildings,
• Support EV charging infrastructure
• Prioritize active transportation and transit,
• Update permitting and zoning bylaws to remove existing barriers to climate action such as the installation of solar and heat pumps.

What you can do to help Brampton meet its emissions reduction targets

While time is running short, there is still an opportunity to meet 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets. You can help in three ways:

Change your personal habits

There are lots of small, medium and large things that we can do as individuals or as a family that will lower our carbon footprint. If a lot of us make even small changes, it will make a BIG difference. For instance:

• Walk/cycle more and drive less,
• Purchase an electric vehicle or take transit,
• If you live in your own home, perform an energy audit and follow suggested efficiency upgrades including:
  • Upgrade windows to triple pane,
  • Upgrade attic insulation,
  • Weather seal windows, doors, baseboards, electrical outlets, etc.
  • Transition heating and hot water system from gas to electric heat pump,
  • Install solar panels,
  • Install solar hot-water system
• Reduce food waste and ensure kitchen scraps are composted or thrown in the green bin,
• Eat more vegetarian meals,
• Buy gently used rather than new or buy good quality items that last a long time. Repair broken items rather than throwing them out. Buy things that you need, or are important to you.
• Forget frivolous gifts! There are better ways of showing that you care.

How you vote matters

We need to let our political leaders know that the environment is important to us. Remind them that it is their duty to balance economic, social and environmental sustainability so that the quality of life in our city can be maintained. It cannot be economic growth at all costs as we will end up paying far more because of the negative impacts of social unrest and environmental degradation.

Support those organizations that are doing the right things

Christmas is a time of giving. There are lots of environmentally, and socially focused organizations out there that are doing a great job and deserve our financial support as well as a bit of our time. Give generously on both accounts. That includes local news organizations that support investigative reporting. These organizations will help keep our politicians honest. But, with more and more advertising revenues going to huge international media companies that lack a moral conscience, these local outlets need your financial support now more than ever.

1. Eco-Parks – Re-shaping older parks including Eastbourne, Earnscliffe, Fallingdale, Edgebrooke, Folkstone, and Knightsbridge, into a network of Eco-Spaces that maximize ecological value, making nature more visible while providing opportunities for social services delivery,
2. Active Transportation – Encourage residents to choose active forms of transportation by improving the pedestrian and cycling experience through improved infrastructure that includes road diets and safe crossings,
3. Healthy Local Food System – Encourage opportunities for urban agriculture in backyards and towers and support access to affordable healthy food for vulnerable residents,
4. Residential building efficiency and resilience. Bramalea has one of the highest residential energy and water use intensity in the city. Lower tree canopy cover combined with urban heat make pockets of this neighbourhood more vulnerable to the effects of climate change,
5. Institutional energy & water use efficiency – Improve institutional energy and water use efficiency by working with businesses and property management companies to encourage building retrofits and landscape greening,
6. Community resilience & connectedness – Improve community resilience and connectedness through offering skills enhancement and knowledge activities and workshops.

The BEA has been involved in delivering projects in the Bramalea SNAP area for the past three years. This past summer, the BEA received SNAP funding to run 9 events between June and October. The purpose was to engage residents in activities to foster concern for natural spaces and encourage cycling as a logical way to navigate the community.

Two bike repair workshops were hosted at Bramalea S.S. servicing 29 bikes.

The project also offered 3 family cycling clinics on Wednesday evenings in July. Few participants took advantage of these sessions indicating that we still have work to do to normalize family cycling for transportation.

A bike clinic in October at Earnscliffe Sr.P.S. yielded better results. Nine students attended the workshop where they learned about cycling safety and how to perform basic repairs on their bikes.

The project also offered 3 nature journaling sessions in Earnscliffe Park. Nature journaling is where participants are guided in observing the details of their natural surroundings, understanding the connectedness of all living beings and appreciating the wonder and beauty of the natural world that lives in our neighbourhood. A total of 26 adults and children attended these sessions .

Overall, 69 people attended BEA Bramalea SNAP activities, 70% of whom were residents of Bramalea in the sections south of Queen St. All participants appeared to enjoy themselves.

We hope to provide more activities in 2025 with even a better turnout!

In Brampton 60% of our carbon emissions come from transportation, mostly from private automobiles. Currently 86% of Brampton’s 880,000 daily travel trips are by a personal vehicle, (car, SUV, truck). Only 14% use walking, cycling or transit despite the fact that almost half of these trips are less than 5 kilometers, (a 15-minute bike ride). Even a small shift from cars to sustainable transportation modes would reduce emissions and help put our country on track to meet international climate targets.

Easy access to cars means less physical activity leading to health problems including diabetes and coronary diseases. Vehicle exhaust contains noxious gases and particulate matter, all of which have been proven to cause cancer and other ailments. A shift from cars to active and sustainable transportation would improve health outcomes and help reduce the strain on our currently over-burdened healthcare system.

Over-engineered roads in Brampton encourage high-speed driving which puts all road users at increased risk of injury and death. The road fatality rate in Brampton since 2012 remains stubbornly high at between 1.5 and 3.4 deaths per hundred thousand population annually. The installation of on-street traffic calming infrastructure including lanes dedicated to active transportation has been shown to improve road safety by reducing average vehicle speed while improving traffic efficiency. Counter-intuitively, the installation of these active lanes does not increase travel times significantly for drivers. In fact, congestion is often reduced as the flow of traffic improves and potential drivers now choose a bike or other micro-mobility device to travel this safer piece of infrastructure.

Finally there is a strong economic argument for travel by active means rather than the car both individually and on a community basis. Cars cost many thousands of dollars more to own and operate than all but the most expensive bicycle or micro-mobility device. Bicycle road infrastructure is way cheaper to build and maintain than roads designed strictly for larger vehicles. And the space efficiency of bicycles and transit vehicles means that existing roads can accommodate the movement of way more people than if everyone uses their own motorized vehicle. So the cost per person/kilometer travelled drops dramatically the more people use sustainable modes of transportation.

Everyone wants safer streets, healthier communities, more affordable transportation and a clean and healthy environment. The research shows that encouraging active and sustainable transportation, (walking, cycling, micro-mobility, transit), is an effective way to achieve these goals. Conversely, supporting policies that favour car travel do just the opposite. The Ford government has made car licenses free, reduced the sales tax on gasoline and is busy building more roads of questionable value such as highway 413.

This operates against the movement of progressive cities like Brampton that are building safe, affordable healthy transportation networks that provide options other than travel by personal automobile. Their actions are delivering positive results. As the streets get safer, more and more people make the choice to use sustainable modes. The use of bicycles and scooters and their electric assist equivalents has never been higher. Every trip taken by active mode represents one less car trip, potentially safer streets and more road space for everyone. There is no need for the Province to meddle, yet again, in the affairs of these municipalities by dictating to them how people should move.

Actions You Can Take

We ask that you take the following actions:

• Sign the Cycle Toronto online petition against the Ford Government’s plan to ban bike lanes
• Write to your MPP and tell them that you support bike lanes and that local street planning should be left to the municipalities.
• Ask your family and friends, all across Ontario, to do the same. We need all the help we can get.
• Get involved, we are asking for volunteers to help organizing our response to the Province’s proposed legislation.

We can’t have safer streets, healthier communities and a sustainable environment by encouraging more car traffic!

Please take action today!

The Ontario government should be building policies on facts rather than pandering to an ill-informed portion of the population who believe that their right to personal transportation convenience trumps everything else. Let’s not allow them to put political ideology in the way of building better communities!

Check the facts against Doug Ford’s claims, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-toronto-bike-lanes-1.7332276

The Rooted in Hope 2023-24 project hosted its final event on Sunday April 21st. About a dozen and a half participants, one third seniors and two thirds secondary school students, enjoyed the bright sunshine yet below seasonal temperatures for the final tree monitoring training at Gore Meadows Community Centre.

Rooted in Hope was designed to create an opportunity for seniors to improve their physical and mental health as well as enhance community connectedness. They did this through participating in light outdoor physical activity while mentoring and supporting secondary school students in a tree planting and monitoring project that would also improve students’ interdisciplinary academic skills.

The project included:

• 5 seniors health workshops, where seniors learned how outdoor activity improves balance, reduces falling risk, and contributes to overall physical and mental health,
• 2 bike safety workshops where seniors were encouraged to use active transportation and promote safe biking practices within the community,
• 3 tree planting events were organized in September 2023, in collaboration with TRCA, where seniors and students worked together to learn how to plant and properly mulch over 300 trees.
• 2 tree monitoring training sessions in the fall of 2023, one at Centennial Park and one at Batsman Park.
• The third and final tree monitoring training event was originally scheduled for March 23rd, 2024 but was snowed out! The “snow” date was Sunday April 21st.

The tree monitoring educational program, delivered in collaboration with the Association of Canadian Educational Resources, (ACER), teamed students and seniors, training them to use measuring equipment, identify tree species, triage tree disease issues, create reports to be sent to the City to inform their Urban Forest Plan and participate in leadership training, so they can teach other students at their respective schools with the help of their senior mentor. All the while exposing both students and seniors to the beauty of Brampton’s forests and green spaces and the importance of protecting both for future generations.

Financial support came from an Ontario Seniors Community grant. The project met or exceeded all required outcomes. Ninety-eight percent of the senior respondents indicated the project helped them feel more engaged in their community. Eighty-eight percent indicated it helped reduce their social isolation. And 95% indicated the project met their needs and interests. Many of the students indicated they learned valuable skills from the training that could take back to their schools and that would help them in their future careers. Almost all of them said they had a lot of fun while working on the project.

Students were given a set of instruments and tools to continue their tree monitoring activities. And each student participant was given a handbook they could use as a reference guide to help students and their senior advisors expand their knowledge and impact in their respective schools. Our hope is that this guide will allow the students and seniors we have trained to work together to start their own “Eco-Clubs” in their schools where one doesn’t already exist. This will continue momentum within the schools beyond this specific project scope. We have also applied for a second Ontario Seniors Community grant with the intent to continue and expand the project in the fall of 2024 through the spring of 2025.