Two weeks ago, Bromont hosted the Forum VÉLOSYMPATHIQUE, organized by Vélo Québec under the theme Accelerating movement. Some one hundred elected officials and municipal professionals were on hand to discuss and share strategies for making cycling a real transportation and leisure option in their communities.
The VELOSYMPATHIC Movement, which we launched in 2015, is an adaptation of the program Bicycle Friendly America, created in 1980 by The League of American Bicyclists, and brought to Ontario by Share the Road Cycling Coalition a decade ago. When we thought about what to call the program in French, we decided on Mouvement VÉLOSYMPATHIQUE. We wanted to get things moving more quickly on the ground, within easy reach of elected representatives and municipal teams. Like the wheel, we wanted to create a movement that would generate new support and new achievements every year.
By taking part in the VÉLOSYMPATHIQUE Forum, I saw not only that the movement has been created, but that the municipal sector is in the process of fully embracing it. When I heard Suzanne Roy, Mayor of Sainte-Julie, and Louis Villeneuve, Mayor of Bromont, speak, I said to myself: «This is it! We've succeeded in getting municipalities to see it in their own interest to join this process, and to strive to surpass themselves in creating cities on a human scale.» A new generation of elected officials is now at the helm of cities. Municipal employees, professionals and technicians are now true ambassadors for cycling and active mobility, in all environments, small and large municipalities alike.
We have always called on the governments of Quebec and Canada, and will continue to do so, to invest more in cycling. The fact remains that the role of the municipal government - the government of proximity - is crucial: it's the one that acts directly on the ground and can make us want to walk or pedal every morning when we leave home.
Become an ambassador for the VELOSYMPATHIC Movement in your community and encourage your municipality to join, if it hasn't already done so, applying for certification by April 3, 2020.
Suzanne Lareau
President and General Manager
