Thunder Bay could cut active transportation budget

The City of Thunder Bay could be spending less on pedestrians and cyclists this year.

As city councillors prepare to pour over the 2016 municipal budget this month, one of the cost-cutting options on the table is slashing the active transportation budget by $50,000.

Mobility co-ordinator Adam Krupper said that would translate to almost one third of his budget for capital projects like painting bike lanes, and installing signage and education initiatives.

"What I think we should be concerned about is, if, in the future ...those cuts remain, the budget is permanently reduced, then that impacts our future planning."

Shrinking the pot of money over the long haul will narrow the city's ability to be more cyclist and pedestrian-friendly, he said.

"You can't think as big, right? You can't make big plans and come up with really impactful projects," he said. "You have to scale down your thinking and scale down the projects and that ultimately, decreases the impact of what you can do."

Spending less also runs contrary to recommendations made by outside organizations to move thecity forward when it comes to active transportation, he said.

Krupper said if the cut happens this year, it will defer the installation of bike lanes on Grenville Avenue and Ford Street, scuttle a pilot project to try new bike lane markings that he said would require less maintenance than paint, and scale back an education program aimed at crossovers.

The city's budget documents state that the cut would slow the implementation of Thunder Bay's active transportation plan.

Members of city council will deliberate the city budget later this month. Right now, it calls for existing taxpayers to fund an increase in spending of 6.5 million dollars, or just over 3.8 per cent from last year.