In BC, as in many places around the world, COVID-19 has served as a trial of our government's readiness, willingness and ability to take decisive action on transportation to protect both population health broadly.

Government decisions on transportation also impact British Columbians individually, as we make our way between home, workplaces and schools, retail businesses, public spaces, and recreation destinations.

By adapting to new conditions, we've shown our collective ability to meet the kinds of challenges we will need to meet by 2030 and beyond.

The climate crises to come will effect all aspects of our lives; we must continue to take action, because enhancing society’s active transportation resources and capabilities is critically important to building resilience:

• Walking and cycling are superior to all other modes of personal transportation from an environmental perspective, thanks to their negligible emissions footprint, as well as their direct contribution to reducing existing emissions from personal vehicles.

• Cycling and walking are incredibly efficient travel modes; at peak capabilities, on-street bicycle facilities move more people than automobiles, and just one-third fewer than local bus transit.

• Active transportation infrastructure is the most cost-effective category of transportation facility to build, in terms of both capital and operating costs; for the same cost of 4-6 km of new city roads, or 8km of 2-lane road widening, over 150 km of sidewalks and 250 km of separated cycle tracks could be constructed.

• Electric bicycles allow more people to remain mobile, navigate BC's varied landscapes, and ride longer distances; e-bikes can make mobility more equitable, accessible, and more economically sustainable for anyone, including those facing transportation barriers — people with disabilities or lower incomes, Indigenous communities and First Nations, residents of rural communities, and tourism sector workers.

Greater support for all forms of mobility on our highways and roads, water crossings, public transit and transportation facilities will help all British Columbians, without compromising our climate goals or the health and welfare of future generations.

We’ve developed a set of transportation policy recommendations in advance of the 2020 provincial general election that we believe expresses the legislative, policy-focused and strategic priorities that would best serve BC.

We hope the three political parties represented in the Legislative Assembly will take our recommendations into account as they formulate their 2020 election platforms.