Whitehorse Urban Cycling Coalition questions municipal candidates

A group of Whitehorse cyclists is the latest organization to ask city council hopefuls for their two cents on issues important to the group.

The Whitehorse Urban Cycling Coalition wants to know how candidates feel about designing city infrastructure to accommodate all road users, not just vehicles. It sent out a questionnaire and held a meeting last week that was attended by six council candidates and one mayoral candidate. 

At the meeting, Jenn Roberts, coalition spokesperson, said the group presented ideas that a "progressive" council might be interested in, such as improving existing bike infrastructure. 

"We would like council members to seek input from the cycling community on all modifications to new developments and infrastructure," said Roberts. 

"I think sometimes there are design things that take place that maybe don't cross the engineer's mind that there could be a cycling-related need, in terms of building a curb, for example."

Many groups seek answers

Several Whitehorse groups have posed questions to candidates and are posting the answers on their websites.  

Raven Recycling asked candidates for their views on waste reduction issues and strategies, while the MacBride Museum asked about support for the museum's current tax abatement and its core funding. 

The Active Trails Whitehorse Association asked about snowmobile bylaws and the candidates' views on allowing motorized traffic on Rotary Bridge. 

The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce asked candidates about their priorities and how they would allocate $2 million to city programs and services. 

The municipal election is Thursday, Oct. 15.