Drummondville, October 26, 2022 - With their heads full of inspiring initiatives and their address books well-stocked, nearly 300 participants at the Colloque Transforming our living environments through cycling took to the road again this evening, after two days of presentations, field visits, workshops, panels and exchanges with their peers. This event, the first of its kind to be held since the pandemic, will have enabled the community of practice working for the development of cycling in all its forms to get together and learn about the best in cycling in Quebec and beyond.
In Drummondville, Vélo Québec brought together elected officials, municipal and government staff, representatives of parapublic entities and organizations, researchers, mobility, tourism and leisure consultants, managers of cycling networks and mountain bike and fatbike trail networks, Route verte partners, outdoor enthusiasts, tourism stakeholders and members of the bicycle industry. Visit programming offered plenary sessions and specific sessions on three major themes: Active mobility and bicycle culture; Leisure, tourism and Route verte; Mountain biking and fatbiking.
Inspiring headliners
At the opening conference, Bruno Marchand, the mayor of Quebec City, set the tone by presenting the ambitious Vision of active mobility 2023-2027 unveiled last month to guide the development of active transportation in the capital. With its costed, data-backed plan and four major orientations (network, comfort, efficiency and culture), Mr. Marchand's brilliantly articulated vision comes at just the right time to tie in with and multiply tenfold the transformative potential of the public transit projects that will revolutionize mobility in Quebec City.
The symposium also provided an opportunity to look at cycling from an angle that is too often overlooked, namely the economic benefits and the contribution of cycling to the economic dynamism of regions. The presentation of Guillaume Lavoie, Quebec inventor of the word-click #veloconomy, In the end, Vélo Québec convinced the audience to include the economic dimension in their speech. This was an opportunity for Vélo Québec to present new data on the economic impact of cycling, available online at velo.qc.ca/veloconomie. Whereupon, Camille Thomé, director of the French organization Bicycles & territories, inspired the audience to be more ambitious, detailing the French government's unprecedented commitment to cycling, and the contribution of cycling to tourism and regional development.
«The French example shows us that with support and a clear government vision, cycling can achieve great things, for the greater benefit of our populations: health, quality of life, purchasing power, the environment... all come out winners from greater investment in cycling» - Jean-François Rheault, President and CEO of Vélo Québec.
Hot topics in the news
The symposium also gave pride of place to a number of topical issues: the rise of the electrically assisted bicycle (VAE), which expands both our reach and definition of who pedals and the challenges of cohabitation on Quebec's bike lanes and trails. Several initiatives on the best ways to ensure the’social acceptability around cycling projects, while a number of initiatives were presented, aimed at improving inclusion and accessibility cycling for all.
«It's inspiring and extremely gratifying to see the cycling community mobilizing for greater inclusion, diversity and equity, whether by adapting mountain bike trail design to people with functional limitations, studying mobility deficits among women, developing cycling courses by and for them, or integrating youth para-cycling components into its clubs» - Magali Bebronne, Program Director at Vélo Québec
Last but not least, the event highlighted the importance of consultation between the multitude of players working to shape tomorrow's cycling Quebec, whether to promote better cohabitation between uses, or to develop new tourism offerings: Véloroute gourmande between Montreal and Sherbrooke, Cycling experience in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, joint promotion of 5 centers under the banner Quebec mountain biking. The colloquium will have embodied all the added value!
The symposium Transforming our living environments through cycling As part of the VÉLOSYMPATHIQUE movement, it receives financial assistance from the Quebec government under the Action-Climat Québec program, and meets the objectives of the Plan for a Green Economy 2030. It also enjoys the support of its two Gold partners, Eco-Counter and Hydro-Québec. Its programming has been developed in collaboration with the’Association des Réseaux Cyclables du Québec (ARCQ).
