WHEREAS the Green Party of Saskatchewan would like to allow for greater access to modes of transportation other than private automobiles.
AND WHEREAS using less of fossil fuels, eliminating traffic congestion, and decreasing urban sprawl would be beneficial to the environment and would result from lessening our reliance on private automobiles.
AND WHEREAS bicycles are a means a transportation that is economical,environmental, and promote a healthy lifestyle.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Saskatchewan promote cycling by advocating all government facilities frequented by the public (especially schools and post secondary institutions) have abundant and secure parking.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Saskatchewan promote the construction of bike paths throughout the largest centers of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, and, Yorkton) that would allow cyclists to move with greater haste, convenience, and safety, creating a sort of “Bike Highway”.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Saskatchewan create a tax rebate for the purchase of bike helmet(s), light(s), elbow/knee pads, or bell(s). This rebate may not exceed one hundred dollars per year per person.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Saskatchewan advocate the installation of bike racks on all urban mass transit buses.
It takes a cyclist to plan
It takes a cyclist to plan improvements for cycling. A city works department will blow the bike budget on things they understand, not what is most needed. Sometimes an existing street is almost ideal as a bike route, but could get better with a change in signage. Short, dedicated connectors can create a network of such streets. If volumes build up, elevated bikeways carry traffic as fast as most "expressways" at rush hour elsewhere, at a tiny fraction of the cost and disruption of a car highway.
We might also promote velomobiles for winter use. They have suitably simple machinery for a cold day, and have a better heater than most cars. On a grid of roads, the extra speed of a velomobile can give it a choice of twice as many destinations in the same time.
The first job in any of these cities should be to produce a map which grades the roads on their suitability for cycling. This helps beginners find appropriate routes, and suggests improvements for planners. A line representing a street can be drawn at a width that represents the space available for a bike, in a colour that shows how heavy the traffic is. Hills can be indicated by making the line dotted into arrows pointing down, with a break at each contour line to show the steepness. Roughness can be indicated by a jagged edge.
Go, Bob! It would be great
Go, Bob! It would be great if we could build on good solid motions like this one, which provide a good starting-point policy stance, and progress to more comprehensive planning work, incorporating the kind of suggestions you're making here. That would notch up our credibility considerably. Maybe we can get some discussion of that sort of thing going at Convention, though it's not on the agenda.
One suggested amendment to the motion: change "abundant and secure parking" to "abundant and secure bicycle parking". Already too much of the other kind! :-)