Another year has passed, and what a year it has been—Bike Friendly Communities is two years old today! Since launching as Bike Friendly Charlottetown in 2019, the BFC team has been working together to transform Island communities through accessible, interconnected active transportation infrastructure and create a culture of cycling so that all people feel safe and empowered to choose cycling as a primary mode of transportation.
As we celebrate another year together, we wanted to take a look back and share with you our accomplishments in 2021.
BFC Incorporates as Bike Friendly Communities
Shortly after our launch, we realized that the scope of what we do reaches beyond Charlottetown into the entire capital region—Stratford and Cornwall—and into communities across the whole Island. So in June 2021, we were excited to reintroduce ourselves to you as Bike Friendly Communities!
In addition to the new name, BFC has officially incorporated as a non-profit co-operative organization in PEI. Formalizing our structure allows us to access funding and other resources that will help us grow and build on the work we’ve already begun.
Hillsborough Bridge Celebration Ride
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate the official opening of the Hillsborough Bridge AT Path by hosting a celebration ride across the bridge in partnership with our friends at Cycling PEI. This bridge pathway is the culmination of a real community advocacy initiative—we made our voices heard loud and clear with the second largest petition ever presented to the provincial legislature—and since its opening, it has been clear just how much this pathway was needed, as pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, and rollerbladers alike now have a safe, separated pathway to get to where they need to go!
150 cyclists of all ages and abilities joined us on June 26th to ride across the bridge, flags flying and smiles wide. Our thanks to all of our volunteers, our friends at Cycling PEI, and the RCMP and Charlottetown police for helping this event to go smoothly, and to the province of PEI, the city of Charlottetown and the town of Stratford for building this important connection and this beautiful bridge path for all of us to enjoy, making our lives and our futures that much better.
Guided Rides, Research, and Community Outreach
Throughout the year, we have enjoyed partnering with groups such as the City of Charlottetown and the Immigration and Refugee Services Association to offer educational Guided Rides in the Charlottetown area, sharing our knowledge and experiences on the safest pathways to use your bike to get where you need to go. In February, we partnered with the West Royalty Trail Project to help facilitate a public meeting to discuss possibilities for a new active transportation lane in that region.
In the spring, we organized 23 volunteers to participate in Vélo Canada’s country-wide Pedal Poll, collecting valuable cycling data to help researchers map Canada’s potential to shift to a cycling nation post-pandemic.
Looking to the Future
The next year is shaping up to be our biggest yet... stay tuned for an announcement coming later today about a new initiative that we are very excited to launch!
Thank you to each and every one of you for your continued support of Bike Friendly Communities and our vision for a safe, accessible, interconnected active transportation network in all of PEI.
Your BFC Hub,
Mitch Underhay
Karri Shea Scott Brown Stephanie Freire
Anna Keenan
Kate Shaw
Isaac Williams
Peter Rukavina