Tell City Council now that you want cycling funded properly in the 2012–14 city budget!

Need background on the City's Cycling Strategy? Go here first.

For those of you who read the budget submission from the Transportation Department, things looked encouraging. Cycling was mentioned a number of times in the priorities up for Council approval, and capital funding for cycling infrastructure increased from $3.5m to $4.5m per year. That's short of the full additional $10.5m in capital funding required for the Cycling Strategy recommendations, but capital funding is tight and not under the City's exclusive control (it relies mainly on provincial and federal grants).  However, the operational budget for cycling—the Strategy initiatives would require $1.485m per year—is within the City's control.  This week, the City Manager released his report on the budget, and things don't look quite as encouraging:

"Base operating costs of $1.485 million (including lane clearing, lane markings, education programs and 3 FTEs) and one-time costs of $710,000 are both unfunded. [...] Implementation of the Cycling Strategy is a key part of the business plan as reflected in strategies 1M2 and 3M1. Since the 2012–2014 proposed business plan and budget does not have sufficient funding for 3 FTEs, Transportation will reallocate existing staff to fulfill these functions. This reallocation may affect level of service in other areas in the Transportation department." (Attachment 3W of Monday's Council Agenda, see this PDF).

In short: the Transportation Department may manage to allocate three positions to cycling by internal reallocations (saving $360,000 of the overall Cycling Strategy budget), but has no money for improved maintenance, snow clearing, lane painting, education, or promotion, all key components of the Cycling Strategy. At the same time, the operational costs of the Pathway Safety Review, which was passed in conjunction with the Cycling Strategy, remains unfunded as well.

• Write or call your Alderman today and tell them you want the Cycling Strategy operating costs included in the budget, and

• Submit your feedback on the budget to City Council using the budget feedback form (until noon Sunday)

Already done? Now call a friend, family member, coworker and ask them to do the same! Tell them to tell Council that they know a cyclist, and they want to make sure they're safe on Calgary's roads.

Do you live in Wards 1, 10, 12, or 14? Aldermen Hodges (Ward 1), Chabot (Ward 10), Keating (Ward 12), and Demong (Ward 14) did not support the Cycling Strategy. They especially need to hear from you!

Remember, the Cycling Strategy is not just for people who already commute to work by bike!  It will have significant benefits for all Calgarians: more transportation options, health benefits, safer roads, less air and noise pollution, savings on car costs, road maintenance, insurance, collisions, policing, health care on the order of several million dollars per year.  According to the World Health Organization, encouraging more Calgarians to cycle will save dozens of lives annually (people who'd have otherwise developed heart disease or diabetes).  It's what Calgarians want!  Over 40,000 Calgarians ride a bicycle regularly, and over 400,000 want to ride more but don't feel safe, according to the city's own research.  And: it's the fair thing to do!  The City currently spends about $2,000 annually per transit commuter, $350 per car commuter, but next to $0 for cyclists.  The unfunded annual cost of the Cycling Strategy ($1.125m) amounts to only $160 per commuter cyclist, and if it is successful in increasing the cycling mode share to 4%, will amount to a mere $60 per cyclist per year!

Read our letter to City Council asking for full operational funding of the Cycling Strategy, or our "Connecting Communities" campaign pages outlining the significant benefits and savings of more Calgarians cycling.

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