The Ecology Action Centre’s Local Activation Program collaborates with communities to develop small-scale interventions that promote active and sustainable transportation. This program is ideal for communities that:
- Have ideas to improve access to active and sustainable transportation
- Are slated for infrastructure projects but have short-term ideas that can be easily implemented or that they’d like to pilot
- Want to encourage active transportation and seek collaboration, support and ideas.
We work directly with community partners to develop and deliver community engagements, create reports based on community feedback and support and fund the implementation of low-cost, high-impact mobility interventions.
Our goal is to create tailored solutions in close collaboration with communities and organizations to increase the use of active and sustainable transportation.
Program Activities
Program activities
We work with communities to:
- Identify barriers: Engage with communities to identify barriers to sustainable transportation, including issues with transit, ride services, carshare programs, cycling, e-bikes, e-scooters, walking, and rolling.
- Develop and evaluate interventions: Create tailored interventions (social infrastructure, programming, education/behavior change) to promote active and sustainable transportation and address identified barriers.
- Empower community voices: Strengthen and empower community members to advocate for positive changes in active and sustainable transportation.
Community Engagement
Community engagement
In collaboration with our partners, we organize events such as group walks and rides, bike repair sessions, youth mobility audits, walking, cycling and transit audits and focus group discussions with diverse stakeholders.
These events engage individuals through activities and collect information in a participatory manner. This helps us understand and address the challenges communities are facing regarding sustainable transportation, while encouraging community engagement.
Focus Areas
Focus areas
We will work with communities to ensure that interventions are:
- Appropriate and beneficial to the community
- Culturally suitable
- Capable of effecting change.
Eligibility and Selection
Eligibility and selection
The EAC welcomes communities to reach out to determine if they are a good fit and have project ideas within the scope of the Local Activation Program. The project will work with 2-3 communities each year over four years (2024-2028). The EAC's Transportation Team will make the final decisions on which communities will participate in the program. Our goal is to work with a diverse range of communities across the province. Participation requires strong community partners committed through the project’s phases: engagement, decision-making and implementation.
For more information about this project, please email program coordinator Simone at simone.mutabazi@ecologyaction.ca.
Community Connections: Active Transportation Projects
Community connections: active transportation projects
Check out the engagement report from "Let’s Walk, Roll & Ride Spryfield," an initiative to promote and celebrate active and multi-modal transportation.