The Bicycle Mayor network is an international group of volunteers that are committed to community-led urban change through cycling. Stephen has been Halifax’s Bicycle Mayor since 2023. His goal is to improve active transportation in the city and to “change the idea of who is a cyclist” by creating options for children, seniors and other underrepresented groups to feel safe taking to the streets. Although heavily focused on cycling, Stephen’s advocacy is really about making all modes of active transportation safe and attractive for Haligonians of all ages and abilities. So what does that look like in practice?

• It’s creating a “walking bus” for elementary school aged kids to safely walk to school together throughout the year, with “Bike Bus Fridays” in the spring and summer months.
• It’s developing working relationships with other cycling and active transportation advocacy groups and well as municipal staff within the active transportation portfolio.
• It’s regularly participating in group rides such as Critical and Kidical Mass, both of which aim to increase the visibility of cycling in the city and opening up opportunities for community members to safely take their bikes on the streets.
• It’s organizing e-bike demo rides at an elementary school PTA event.
• It’s organizing his own group rides like a recent Jane’s Walk where he took participants through the proposed bikeway in the North End to demonstrate and discuss the strengths and limitations of the route.
• It’s reviewing and publicly communicating infrastructure plans by the municipality (the proposed bikeway, for example), and bringing citizen’s concerns and suggested improvements to council and city staff.
• It’s using his position to advocate on behalf of the blind and vision-impaired community about infrastructure safety concerns that members of the community bring to his attention.
• It’s fixing up donated bikes and giving them to kids and families who could use them.
• It’s helping others incorporate cycling and active transportation into their personal and professional lives by assisting with group ride organizing, advising on routes/gear and accompanying people on their first ride out to help them become more comfortable.

Stephen is deeply committed to improving safe active transportation for all Haligonians not just because Halifax can barely handle the number of cars on the road and active transportation is a way of relieving that, along with the environmental impacts of personal vehicles; Stephen does it because he loves it. Biking is fun and he wants everyone to be able to feel the joy he feels walking or biking safely through our beautiful city.

North End Bikeway Corridor may not be enough for experienced cyclists | City | Halifax, Nova Scotia | THE COAST

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