Markham Wins Award For Bike-Friendly Excellence

Markham: The City of Markham has won a prestigious provincial award for being a Bicycle Friendly Community. Markham was awarded bronze status as a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) during the recent Annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference in Ottawa.

The BFC Award is granted by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, a cycling advocacy group committed to working with, and on behalf of, municipalities to make Ontario communities more bicycle-friendly.  Winning communities are judged in “the Five Es”: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning.

“The City of Markham is completing an extensive network of bike routes and off-road trails to extend over 400 kilometres,” said Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “Markham’s Cycling Master Plan, developed in collaboration with a Citizen’s Advisory Committee, provides for extensive cycling routes as part of our commitment to be a community that encourages wellness, and one of the most sustainable cities in North America.”

In accepting the award on behalf of Markham, Deputy Mayor Jack Heath remarked, “We are honoured to receive this distinction and be recognized across Ontario as a bicycle friendly community that promotes individual health. With our commitment to the Cycling Master Plan, we hope to see more and more people of all ages cycling for recreation and transportation.”

Mayor Scarpitti and Markham Council’s commitment to promote and support the physical and mental health of Markham citizens can be found in Markham’s strategy – Building Markham’s Future Together, and our Integrated Master Leisure Plan and Greenprint Community Sustainability Plan. Based on last available data reported in the Greenprint Plan, York Region and Markham residents scored better than the provincial average in adult obesity and life expectancy rates.

Markham youth, from three to 17 years old, recently led the way on August 19 with the Markham Giro Bike Race which teaches cycling safety and encourages active participation – the same week Markham received the Bicycle Friendly Community Award in Ottawa.

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