Making Greater Sudbury pedestrian friendly: promises and politics

Morning North3:40Most pedestrian friendly city in Ontario

Sudbury City council wanted to turn the city into the most pedestrian friendly place in Ontario by the year 2015. Reporter Erik White is doing a bit of a walkabout of the city to see if that pledge was met.

This is a year that some in Greater Sudbury have been waiting for since 2007 when city council pledged to make Sudbury the most pedestrian friendly city in Ontario by 2015.

CitycouncillorJoscelyneLandry-Altmanndoesn't think Sudbury has earned the title yet. But, she does believe the bold promise did help start the conversation on how to get around Sudbury without a car.

"It's a work in progress, there's no question," she said. "It's like turning an elephant around."

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Much of the progress since 2007 has been thanks to the trail-building organization Rainbow Routes.

Executive director Samantha Baulch believes Sudbury is friendlier to pedestrians than it once was.

"Obviously there's frustration, because people want to see this done yesterday, but we're getting there."

She predicts that big changes could come in the next few years, now that transportation policies at the city are officially shifting away from being only about cars and trucks.

Landry-Altmann said the city still needs to make it easier for pedestrians to cross busy Sudbury streets like Notre Dame Avenue and Lasalle Boulevard.

But, she conceded Greater Sudbury is "accepting the challenge" of making the city more pedestrian friendly.

"Did we meet it, 100 per cent? No, we didn't," Landry-Altmann said.

"Is there still more to do? Yes there is. Are we still going to work on it? Absolutely."

Do you think Greater Sudbury is becoming more friendly to pedestrians?