Montréal, March 21, 2023 - Vélo Québec is dismayed that the 2023-2024 Quebec budget does not include any increase in the amounts allocated to programs aimed at the making active travel safer, a priority issue in our view.
Given the worrying rise in deaths and serious injuries among the most vulnerable road users in recent years, Vélo Québec believes it is imperative to adopt a comprehensive, integrated approach to road safety. Government road safety strategy based on Vision Zero* and provide the necessary funding for its implementation. Yet there is no financial support for this strategy in the budget.
The bonus of TAPU and Véloce III, municipal financial assistance programs for active transportation infrastructure, could have been a first step in implementing this important project. They are the key to encouraging walking and cycling and thus helping to achieve the objectives of the Quebec Sustainable Mobility Policy. These programs respectively enable us to plan the development of attractive and safe pedestrian and cycling networks to build complete streets** in the heart of our municipalities, and to support the development and maintenance of Route verte, a valuable asset with considerable spin-offs for our communities.
As part of the pre-budget consultations, Vélo Québec recommended doubling the sums invested in these two programs to reach a minimum annual investment of $100 million. No such investment has yet been announced.
Nevertheless, we would like to highlight the Quebec government's support for the implementation of Quebec City's Vision of Active Mobility. With an amount of $15 million (non-recurring), the Ministère de l'Environnement, la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs is demonstrating the importance of supporting municipalities in their modal shift objectives. We support the government's vision that «active, sustainable mobility is good for the environment and good for people», and believe that such support should be extended to all Quebec municipalities.
- 30 -
About Vélo Québec
Founded in 1967, Vélo Québec's mission is to develop a cycling culture for everyone, everywhere in Quebec. Its expertise is recognized throughout the international cycling community. velo.qc.ca
Information and interview requests :
Vélo Québec
Marie-Hélène Juneau
Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Partnerships
514 980-0698 | [email protected]
Descriptions
*Zero vision
The Vision Zero approach is quite simply the ultimate goal in terms of road safety: zero deaths and zero serious injuries on the Quebec road system. Adopted by the City of Montreal in 2019, this approach deems all road deaths and serious injuries unacceptable, and calls for a rethinking of road infrastructures to eliminate risks, rather than trivializing collisions as inevitable consequences of using the road system. It also prioritizes user safety over traffic flow, and holds road designers responsible for creating infrastructures that mitigate the consequences of human error.
**Complete street
A complete street is designed and laid out to be safe, convenient and pleasant for all users, whatever their mode of transport, physical condition or age. This policy aims to promote a comprehensive approach to our road systems, and to provide a seamless transportation network that includes all roads, regardless of which level of government is responsible.
