Tomorrow morning, February 24 at 9:30am in City Hall's River Valley Room, Council's Transportation Committee will hear the proposed Terms of Reference for the new Active Transportation Council Initiative. You can view the report online now.

And you can watch debate on the report live Wednesday morning at http://councilontheweb.edmonton.ca/

In July 2015, City Council moved that Administration prepare Terms of Reference for Council's consideration to establish a new Council Initiative named "Active Transportation." The new Initiative will seek to answer the following questions:

• Why is Active Transportation important to individuals and the communities that make up the City of Edmonton?
• How can we work together to build the City’s commitment to support and encourage Active Transportation?
• What should be the focus of our improvement efforts?

The Council Initiative for Active Transportation is expected to proceed for the duration of the 2013-17 Council Term.

A public involvement plan will be developed upon initiation of this Council Initiative. There is no current budget allocated for this Council Initiative. Until such time as detailed Active Transportation initiatives have been identified, it is difficult to assess any financial implications. Funding would need to be authorized by Council.

Presently, the role and potential impact of this new initiative is unknown. Other examples of Council Initiatives include Communities in Bloom, Edmonton's Poverty Elimination, Next Gen, Public Engagement, Traffic Safety, and Winter Cities; given the right attention and funding, this initiative could elevate the conversation around bike infrastructure from a circular debate about whether or not it should exist into a more productive plan to build a better city: one that is serious about supporting active transportation.