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Region sets sights on active transportation

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

The Durham Trail Co-ordinating Committee is going through some changes, including an increased focus on active transportation.

According to committee chair Terry Clayton, beginning last March, a three-person subcommittee investigated expanding the DTCC’s mandate to include cycling.

After consultations with stakeholders, the committee made the following recommendations, which received approval by regional council in January.

– Changing the committee’s name to the Durham Active Transportation Committee (DATC)

– Beginning with the 2018 term of council the number of regional councillors on the committee will shrink from eight to two, while the number of citizen members will remain at eight

Clayton told The Oshawa Express various factors were considered in expanding the committee’s identity.

“Our past mandate was dealing with recreational trails. There is basically only so much you can do, and it is a lot of repetition,” Clayton explains.

“Over the past several years, the transportation network in Durham has grown to include walking, cycling and the use of public transit,” he says.

For him, the name change reflects the committee’s “desire to provide the support and advice to the eight local municipalities on trails and cycling moving forward.”

With the development of the region’s updated Active Transportation Master Plan, Clayton believes it is an “opportune time for us to put our voice forward.”

In regards to the composition changes, Clayton says the DATC’s membership will be in line with other regional committees.

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