Bill 13 2015
An Act to proclaim the month of June as Ontario Bike Month
Preamble
Bicycling is an increasingly popular mode of transportation across Ontario. Recent Ministry of Transportation surveys of road users suggest that around 1.2 million adults in Ontario ride a bicycle daily during the spring, summer and fall, and 2.8 million people ride at least once a week. Each year, a growing number of cycling events take place in June. Many municipalities throughout the Province already consider June to be Bike Month, and as such, this Bill represents an important opportunity to recognize this and celebrate bicycling in Ontario more broadly.
It is important to build on the Province's release of the Ontario Cycling Strategy by declaring the month of June as Ontario Bike Month.
Increased cycling would have cumulative societal benefits. Cycling helps people develop healthy habits for life. These include a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise and reduced health care costs through the promotion of active living. Bicycling also reduces traffic congestion, increases economic development through cycling-tourism and plays a role in improving air quality for the environment.
By actively promoting bicycling, we can encourage more cycling routes to take people places they want to go. Connected cycling networks will provide youth with more opportunities for an active and healthy lifestyle.
Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Ontario Bike Month
1. The month of June in each year is proclaimed as Ontario Bike Month.
Commencement
2. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
3. The short title of this Act is the Ontario Bike Month Act, 2015.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 13 and does not form part of the law. Bill 13 has been enacted as Chapter 16 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2015.
The Bill proclaims the month of June in each year as Ontario Bike Month.