Photo: Nelson and Area Community Transportation
The city could be lobbying the province for a cycling component to curriculum to entrench the activity into people’s lives.
The city may take the initiative to put cycling and cycling knowledge on the curriculum to help educate the next generation of two-wheel enthusiasts.
Coun. Rik Logtenberg asked the Nelson and Area Community Transportation (NACT) project manager Brooke Jones about its Nelson and Area Cycling Education program — when she presented to Nelson city council Nov. 18 — if providing education on skills as well as the rules of the road and how to become a better rider was actually part of the local school curriculum.
Jones said there were some educational offerings in elementary schools and at Trafalgar Middle for bike skills classes.
Was current cycling education focused on cycling for transportation as opposed to cycling as an activity — road cycling, mountain biking — asked Logtenberg. And are there “bike mechanic courses, how to maintain your bike?” he asked.
In schools there is some conversation around basic maintenance, and at Trafalgar there is an elective winter bike maintenance course, Jones explained.
“Those are opportunities throughout the school district, but it is not mandatory,” she said.
Logtenberg said it didn’t sound like there were enough continuous, broad reaching education programs for cycling to provide the education needed.
“We would like to see everyone educated about the rules of the road and everyone educated on how to be safe,” said Logtenberg.
He said cycling should be part of the curriculum.
“Because the assumption is this should be a form of transportation that should be available for everyone for the course of their entire life,” Logtenberg explained.
Cycling — active transportation — is something that is being promoted broadly as a society, he added.
“And then, to hook people to getting into being more interested, you could elevate it so you do include maintenance, giving you the confidence to maintain your own bike,” he said.
And then offer advanced training to be a great rider, whether it is on the road, the trail, or the backcountry.
He said cycling education could be part of the city advocacy to the province or the Union of B.C. Municipalities in consideration of putting cycling training into the curriculum.
The NACT project was funded through the 2025 regional district ReDi grant and aims to establish a community-based framework for cycling safety education and awareness for students and families in Nelson and surrounding areas.