By Jessica Delaney
The announcement of new funding for a nation-wide program which encourages young people to leave their cars at home comes the same week the provincial government has promised millions to build more roads in Ottawa.
Last month, an Ottawa-based program that brings a health-conscious approach to transportation issues received $47,000 from the federal government’s Moving on Sustainable Transporation program, which funds organizations that educate and improve public awareness of alternative, more environmentally friendly forms of transportation.
The money was given to the Clean Air Champions program, which tries to educate youth on how vehicle emissions can impact the environment and their personal health. A local environmental management company, Green & Gold Inc, is running the program and funds and will be used to help in the production of a Web site and information materials.
Olympic and World Champion athletes such as wheelchair racer Jeff Adams, rower Emma Robinson, and tri-athlete Isabelle Turcotte-Baird, promote the Clean Air Champions program.
Less than a week after the MOST program was introduced, the provincial government announced $127 million for infrastructure development in Ottawa. A total of seven major projects will be receiving funding, six of which will go to road construction with a total cost of $102 million. Expansion of roadways reinforces the status quo and caters to cars, says Anna van der Kamp, project manager with Green & Gold, and an Olympic silver medallist in rowing.
“We always support sustainable and active transportation,” says van der Kamp of the Clean Air Champions program. Sustainable and active transportation include in-line skating, biking, walking and using public transportation. “The health costs of added pollution are never factored in,” she says.
To reach out to youth, the Clean Air Champions visit schools and community and media events and participate in nation-wide action days like the International Walk to School Day.
Oct. 2 will be this year’s International Walk to School Day when Clear Air Champions will join children in their walks to school and raise awareness about environmental concerns, physical fitness, and congestion and traffic near schools.
Bert Titcomb, national manager of Transport 2000, a non-profit advocacy group that seeks environmentally sound transportation alternatives, is impressed with programs like Clean Air Champions.
“The time has come to offer commuters a choice,” he says. “Expansion of Highway 417 and other roads means more vehicles, more traffic and more pollution. We need to have confidence to leave the car at home.
“Studies have shown that expansion doesn’t reduce traffic, but creates more.”
City councillor Diane Deans is cautiously optimistic about provincial funding, but adds, “any help to assist with easing the trials of the daily commute is welcome.”
Deans says that gridlock is a relatively new word to Ottawa, which has come about with growth, development and economic prosperity.
“Progress has its downside, but there are ways of addressing environmental issues,” she says.
The city’s environmental advisory committee has not yet seen any information on the plans, but will advise to council in due course.
The province’s infrastructure plans – dubbed the “SuperBuild” – is likely to raise further debate about the impacts on all city commuters, whether on two feet or four wheels.