Committees

Since 2008, KCAT has worked to promote active transportation in Kingston. In 2023 several City documents that address transportation will be updated and KCAT and our committees will be reviewing them and providing feedback.  Keep reading to learn more about our current committees and specific work they are doing.

Pedestrian Transit Mobility (PTM) Committee

The Pedestrian Transit Mobility Committee looks at Kingston streets, sidewalks, trails, parks, and transit from a pedestrian perspective. The Active Transportation Master Plan and Vision Zero: Kingston’s Road Safety Plan are two City plans the PTM committee uses in its work.

There are several City projects and issues on the go that the PTM Committee is following, including but not limited to, transportation-related planning, parking encroachment on sidewalks, trail access, and concerns around construction sites.

Current Work

  • Review relevant City of Kingston plans and studies that are currently under consideration, and contribute input to facilitate safe, attractive, accessible, and connected pedestrian and transit routes and opportunities.
  • Collaborate with the Cycling Committee to identify barriers and facilitators for active travel at construction sites and advocate for safer conditions.   

Cycling Committee

The Cycling Committee advocates for better and safer cycling infrastructure to facilitate cycling as a mode of transportation. We do this by collaborating with the City for action and taking action ourselves wherever possible.

Recently, a Bicycle Parking Audit of the Kingston Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) was conducted mapping all bike racks in the DBIA area, noting what type of bike racks are available, and the condition of the bike racks. A report summarizing this as well as recommendations on improvements has been distributed to City Transportation Services and the DBIA. Read the final report here.

In September 2022, KCAT expressed concerns at a public meeting hosted by Utilities Kingston about unsafe cycling conditions along the construction site at Front Road/King Street West near Little Cataraqui Creek. Please see the article “Front Road and King Street West Construction Update” here.

Current Work
  • Increase awareness of bike registration through the 529 Garage platform.
  • Advocate for more bike parking at transit stops to facilitate first and last mile travel patterns by bike. 
  • Advocate for more bike parking at businesses in suburban areas.
  • Develop educational materials.
  • Collaborate with the PTM Committee to identify barriers and facilitators for active travel at construction sites and advocate for safer conditions.

School Streets/Safe Streets Committee

School Streets/Safe Streets is in its second year at Winston Churchill Public School (WCPS) and its first year at Central Public School. Both are running smoothly and have a lot of volunteers. The focus is on children’s safety and promotion of AT for daily trips to and from school and free play. Roger, the Chair of School Streets/Safe Streets presented on the WCPS project at the Walk21 conference in Dublin, Ireland in September.

Plans for School Streets/Safe Streets are to:

  1. Build on successful planning of School Streets and Play Streets
  2. Create working relations with School Boards and City departments
  3. Develop expertise in teaching how to launch and operate School Streets
  4. Familiarize with general principles of Active School Travel
  5. Work with other partners to implement (e.g., BGC Southeast)
Current Work
  • School Street volunteers welcome at Winston Churchill and Central Public schools (school year 2022-2023).
  • Build a sustainable model so that the program can run without volunteers.
  • Develop workshops on how School Boards and City can operate School Streets.

Communications Committee

The Communications Committee works on internal and external communications to provide consistent, informative messaging for members and the community. We support the work of other KCAT committees and the Board, including participation in City-led and community events which promote active transportation. 

We distribute a newsletter four times a year (subscribe on the right hand side of this page!) with updates about our work and new opportunities in the City. Previous newsletters are accessible at the link in the top menu bar. KCAT is on Facebook; it too is an invaluable source of AT, and features information, news, and evidence locally and from around the world. 

Current Work
  • Incorporating our key messages about AT and KCAT into new and revised KCAT materials.
  • Keeping our website up to date.
  • Broadening our social media channels.