Montreal, Monday, January 22, 2018 - Vélo Québec congratulates the 4 communities and 6 organizations newly recognized by the Bicycle-mympathetic movement.
Recognized communities and organizations encourage their citizens, employees and visitors to use bicycles for recreation and travel by taking action in at least two of the five areas essential to the development of a genuine cycling culture: Environment, Education, Encouragement, Support, Evaluation and Planning (the 5Es).
«Through their commitment to the process, the communities and organizations certified in this round identify themselves as modern living environments that value active mobility, physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits, and thus join the 13 communities and 25 organizations already recognized by the program since 2016,» mentions Suzanne Lareau, President and CEO of Vélo Québec.
Candidates are evaluated by a panel of expert judges on the basis of the actions implemented in their community in each of the 5 fields of intervention, and taking into account the specific realities of the candidate (size, geographical location, etc.).
Candidates who do not meet the certification criteria, but who demonstrate a clear commitment to the development of a bicycle culture, receive an honorable mention. Certified communities and organizations are awarded a level of certification (bronze, silver, gold, platinum or diamond) based on the relevance and number of actions implemented in their community.
All candidates receive a feedback report with recommendations they can implement to continue their efforts, and are invited to reapply after three years to assess how far they've come.
Organizations and communities wishing to become involved in the VELOSYMPATHIC approach are invited to visit the VELOSYMPATHIC website. www.velosympathique.com where they can find all the details about certification, as well as numerous tools and resources to help them develop cycling in their communities. The next deadline for applications is October 5, 2018.
The Bicycle Friendly Movement is a Vélo Québec initiative launched in Quebec in September 2015. The program is inspired by the Bicycle Friendly America program, created in 1980 by The League of American Bicyclists, and deployed in Ontario by Share the Road Cycling Coalition since 2010. The Bicycle Friendly Movement is a project financed by the Green Fund as part of Action-Climat Québec, a program of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques stemming from the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change. The program also receives financial support from Québec en Forme.
Founded in 1967, Vélo Québec's mission is to promote cycling for transportation, recreation and tourism, in order to improve the quality of life for all. While its expertise is now recognized throughout the international cycling community, Vélo Québec celebrated 50 years of cycling action in 2017.
Information
Stéphanie Couillard
Media Relations Consultant
Vélo Québec
514 521-8356, ext. 358
[email protected]
