The PLP Active Transportation Committee is just that and more

By Lisa Kopochinski

With its vision of having the Portage la Prairie area be a place where making healthy transportation choices are easy, the Portage Active Transportation Committee (PATC) was formed in 2009 and has evolved to a place today that its members are proud of.

“To achieve this, our mission has been and continues to be to promote viable, inclusive, and accessible year-round active transportation options in the Portage la Prairie area,” says PATC Member Morag Morison.

“We promote initiatives in the area, as well as organize and execute projects and events to promote various forms of active transportation, such as our annual Bike Week event.”

The PATC is comprised of 14 members who meet monthly. In addition to planning special events and projects, there are also subcommittees for other community members who also wish to be involved.

While the committee was forced to take a break during the COVID-19 lockdown, its focus over the past has been about regrouping and taking a strategic approach to reviewing what work had been done prior to the pandemic, and what gaps needed to still be filled.

“This past May, we relaunched the annual Bike Week and hosted 12 unique events throughout the week in partnership with many local organizations and businesses,” recalls Morison.

The PATC is also very excited to be working on bringing the Greasy Chain, a community bike shop where people can come and tune up their bikes or build/bring a bicycle, back to life in a new location.

“This project is taking significant time and effort from many people, so it’s currently a large focus of ours and will continue to be in the coming years,” she adds.

Additionally, the committee is continuing to seek out more opportunities to promote active transportation in all seasons in the community and will be launching fun social media contests throughout the year to promote the usage of active transportation paths in our city using different methods of active transportation.

“It’s important to note that the term ‘active transportation’ includes any form of transportation that use a person’s power to get from one location to another—including walking, biking, skateboarding, in-line skating/rollerblading, jogging and running, non-mechanized wheel chairing, snowshoeing, iceskating and cross-country skiing.”

Recently, the PATC promoted Red River College Polytech’s new bicycle fixing station located off campus. The station includes many tools for tuning up a bicycle, as well as a tire pump. It is outdoors and available for free use to anyone.

Additionally, Morison adds that it’s exciting to promote the work the City of Portage la Prairie has been doing to create and maintain active transportation pathways in the community in recent years.

Jocelyn Lequier-Jobin, director of operations at the City of Portage la Prairie, says this year the city had two major active transportation projects—Meighen Avenue and Saskatchewan Avenue W.

For the extension of the pathway down Meighen Avenue, the paving of the paths was completed over the summer, and the sodding will be done this fall. The second project is the bike paths and sidewalks on Saskatchewan Avenue W. The paths and sidewalks have been completed from 4th Street W to 7th

Street W. and on the north side of the road from 7th Street W to 20th Street W.

“We hope to have some of the work on the south side to be completed this fall with the paths extended all the way to the railway tracks next summer,” she says.

“The benefits of extending our active transportation network include providing safe convenient ways for kids to get to school; making it easier for citizen to pursue an active lifestyle and promote health; reducing carbon and other vehicle emissions; and providing alternate transportation methods for those who are unable to drive or don’t own a vehicle.”

Morison adds that it’s amazing to have elected officials and city administration who see value in investing in active transportation infrastructure that’s both accessible and safe.

“The City has put a lot of work in recent years into expanding active transportation routes throughout the city, and it’s always exciting to us to see those in use by people of all ages and abilities.”

Lastly, Morison says as an entirely volunteer-run group, the committee is always interested in connecting with community members who want to get involved.

“We love to partner with organizations and businesses who want to promote and increase active transportation in Portage and area, and we welcome people to be in touch if they have project ideas that they’d like to partner on. We invite them to email us portageatc@gmail.com.”