Bike to School Project
Since 2008, CultureLink has been involved in a partnership with Cycle Toronto, to encourage newcomers to cycle in and around Toronto because cycling is affordable, healthy, and convenient. More and more people are choosing to travel/commute by bicycle every year. Many newcomers are coming from countries where cycling is even more established as a mode of transportation, and we have encouraged newcomers to retain and share that habit in Toronto.
In spring 2013, CultureLink and Cycle Toronto, with new collaborators the Toronto Cycling Think Tank and Evergreen, initiated the Bike to School project to promote cycling to school in the schools served by CultureLink’s Settlement Workers in Schools program. The Bike to School project will launch in schools in September 2013.
Bike Host
The summer program associated with the Bike to School project is Bike Host, which is targeted at adults in west-end Toronto, especially around the schools served by CultureLink’s settlement workers. Through the unique program, offered alongside CultureLink’s Community Connections Mentorship Program, cyclists are helping make Toronto more welcoming for newcomers, and newcomers are experiencing more of Toronto by bike. Find out more here.
Toronto Cyclists Handbook
The Toronto Cyclists Handbook explains safety tips and the rules of the road in Toronto and the province of Ontario. It also introduces bicycle vocabulary as well as information about community resources. The handbook is available in English as well as 16 bilingual editions: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (simplified), French, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. You can find the handbook online here and at the offices of CultureLink and Cycle Toronto. It’s free!
Our Funders and Partners
CultureLink’s cycling initiatives have been developed from the Partnership for Integration and Sustainable Transportation, a joint initiative of CultureLink and Cycle Toronto. Our innovative partnership has been recognized with five awards: the Bhayana Family Foundation 2011 Community Partnership Award (as part of the Davenport West Bike Project), the 2010 Excellence in Sustainable Transportation award from the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association, the Alliance for Biking and Walking 2010 Advocacy Innovation of the Year Award, the BIKE T.O. 2009 Award, and the Bhayana Family Foundation 2009 Innovation and Creativity Award.
The Bike to School project, a collaboration between CultureLink, Cycle Toronto, the Toronto Cycling Think and Do Tank and Evergreen, is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Other cycling-related initiatives at CultureLink have been supported by the Toronto Community Foundation, Live Green Toronto, the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada, and Mountain Equipment Co-op. We also acknowledge the support of the Youth Eco Internship Program.
In 2011, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration funded a program called “Pathways to Green Engagement”. Check out the video made by the participants, in collaboration with Ice Cream Truck Stories.