WHEELS
THE ACTION PLAN TO LOWER EMISSIONS: What Is Our Government Doing to Help?
By Story Sheidow Photos Sara Bakker
▲ Ronnie McPhee
Prince Edward Island holds the most roads per square kilometre of any province in Canada. It’s no surprise, then that transportation accounts for 44 per cent of the total greenhouse gases here on the Island.
Last fall the provincial government released The Sustainable Transportation Action Plan- their new strategy to reduce the Island’s contribution to greenhouse gases. The Action Plan, a twenty page report, is available online to the public. The action plan includes 27 items – some which have already been completed over the past 12 months, and some which will be implemented over the course of the next several years. In the past year alone, huge strides have been made in areas such as an increase in the number of electric
vehicle (EV) chargers, the widening of 34 kilometres of road shoulders on Island highways to accommodate cyclists, and the dedication of a portion of the annual transportation budget to active transportation by establishing the five-year Active Transportation (AT) Fund. Applications for funding for the 2021 construction season will be released in the coming weeks, and municipalities and organizations are encouraged to apply. So, how can we improve our emissions within the Island’s current transportation infrastructure?
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www.pei-living.ca WINTER 2020
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