Marcia Turner

Hello, and thank you for your question.  The best thing we can do is to provide good transportation alternatives so that at least some of the time people can choose to leave their cars at home.

Our new Official Community Plan is focused on Smart Growth and transit oriented development - linking housing to transportation. We are actively seeking to improve the frequency of transit, and extend the hours.  There is a lot of interest in having an express bus between Courtenay and Comox.

We have done much to improve the safety of cycling in Comox.  We obtained grant funding and used gas tax funds to make improvements to the top of Comox hill.  We were the first community on Vancouver Island to use the green reflective paint in our cycling lanes in conflict zones.  Comox Council recently voted to extend the mandate of the Cycling Task Force.  I am the Town's Representative on the task force, and we need to work on improving connectivity between communities to make cycling safer for commuters.  We would like to be part of a MOT pilot project, which would help us  achieve this goal.

In addition, we need to continue with walkway and pathway development and ensure their connectivity, which would give our citizens many transportation alternatives. Comox wrote a letter of support for funding for bicycle training in our schools, and I hope that the grant request is successful.  It is important for young people to learn about safe cycling at an early age as they do in many other countries.

submitted by Marcia Turner