Are you curious about e-bikes? Are you thinking of buying an e-bike? E-bikes have become very popular on the Sunshine Coast and for good reason! They’re one of the funnest ways to get to work, school, run errands, or simply for recreation. And need we mention getting up School Road??? There’s a myriad of types out there, so how do you choose? Watch this webinar recording sponsored by the Clean BC Go Electric Emotive program and hosted by HUB Cycling where we cover considerations for choosing an ebike, battery charging, maintenance tips, and bust a few myths along the way. Special thanks to the Clean BC Go Electric Emotive program for their support in making this happen.

Sunshine Coast Car Free Day (Car Free on Cowrie) happens September 7th, 2024 in Sechelt. Join us for the Sunshine Coast's Car Free Day Get ready to embrace the freedom of the open road—without the cars! Join us for Car Free on Cowrie, an exhilarating celebration of community and fun! On September 7th, 2024, Cowrie Street will transform into a car-free haven, inviting locals and visitors alike to explore vibrant Cowrie Street in a whole new way. This is more than just a fun day out—it’s a chance to appreciate our shared environment and to strengthen our community bonds. So, leave the car behind, grab your bike, put on your walking shoes, and come celebrate with us! Event Details Date Time Location Who's it for What Cost September 7th, 2024 (Saturday) 12pm-5pm Cowrie Street in Sechelt Everyone! There'll be fun for all ages. This is a family-friendly event. Car Free on Cowrie is a community-based, volunteer-run event on the Sunshine Coast, BC, which closes a busy street to car traffic and sets up a day-long community festival to promote active transportation and public spaces. It is similar to other Car Free Days held around the world. Highlights of Car Free on Cowrie include: live music by The Hook Pedal & Polish bike show beer garden bike valet (easy bike parking) free bike tune-ups food trucks bike polo crokinole and pickleball kids activities lots more Attendance is free! Food and drinks will be sold by vendors. Event Sponsors The Sunshine Coast Slow Food Cycle is brought to you by TraC, a local member-based active transportation group. TraC’s mission is to support healthy communities and reduce the Sunshine Coast’s carbon footprint by promoting more active and sustainable transportation alternatives to private vehicles, including cycling, walking, and transit. If you care about making it easier for all Sunshine Coast residents to get to where they’re going without always having to use a car, please consider becoming a member! Join TraC

Slow Food Cycle on the Sunshine Coast, BC features a slow cycle around Upper Gibsons and Elphinestone to local farms, farmstands, with food and entertainment from local artisans and performers. Family-friendly and e-bikes welcome. Sunshine Coast Slow Food Cycle 2024 Register Already registered? No check-in required! Head to your first venue stop anytime after 11am. Not yet registered? Persephone or Sunshine Coast Credit Union (Gibsons) We'll get you setup and on your way in no time. Join us for TraC’s 2nd annual Sunshine Coast Slow Food Cycle Grab your favourite people-powered wheels and get ready for a great day of exploring our local farms and enjoying the bounty our local food producers and artisans have to offer! Last year’s event was a huge success and this year we’re excited to announce more vendors offering a wider range of locally grown produce and artisanal prepared food and refreshments. Bring a backpack or panniers because you’ll want to stock up on delicious offerings that you can enjoy as a picnic at one of the stops along the way or bring home for future meals. Event Details Date Time Location Who's it for What Cost July 28th, 2024 Ride 11am-4pm, afterparty @ Persephone 4pm-7pm At participating farms and other venues located in Upper Gibsons from Lower Road stretching to Chamberlain Road, just past Persephone on North Road. TraC members and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun! This is a family-friendly event for all ages and abilities and e-bikes are welcome. 16 participating venues invite you to come explore their locally grown and prepared foods and other artisanal goods on the Coast. The route contains ~20km of easy riding with less than 100m elevation. Highlights include: Scavenger hunt Farm animal visits Food truck Fresh produce (some organic) Two cideries, one distillery, beer farm Food samples Garden maze Artisanal goods, etc. $15 (TraC members) $20 (not-yet TraC members) Kids 18 and under ride free SPOTS LIMITED - REGISTER SOON Last year's event sold out and we expect this year's to do the same. Book your spot now to make sure you don't miss out! Register Same-day sign-up available at Persephone starting at 11am PARKING Parking is available for event participants at the Sunshine Coast Credit Union in Gibsons (985 Gibsons Way, Gibsons, BC V0N 1V8). If no space is available, please find other public parking. Please do not park at Persephone. We will have traffic managing the area and will have to direct you elsewhere. IMPORTANT Registration is required and can be done online, at Persephone Brewing (1053 Stewart Rd., Gibsons, BC) or the Sunshine Coast Credit Union (Gibsons location at 985 Gibsons Way) between 11am and 1:30pm Participants will be sharing the road with cars – this is not a closed course. Rules of the road apply and helmets required. Two managed road crossings will be available for spots to keep cyclists safe when crossing busy roads. We highly encourage everybody to use these supervised crossings and watch out for each other on the roads. Digital/PDF map will be available and will be emailed to participants before the event. After the Ride Join us from 4-7 at Persephone for music, drinks, chats with friends and some well-deserved helmet hair Monty Montego & the Rocksteady Crew PERSEPHONE GARDEN STAGE 2:30-4:30 Brothers in Farms PERSEPHONE GARDEN STAGE 5-7 Highlights from 2023 Why join the Slow Food Cycle? Because it’s super fun! And because it helps you feel like you’re part of a wider cycling community while supporting our local farms and food producers. The purpose of the Sunshine Coast Slow Food Cycle is to support local food and beverage producers and increase awareness of agricultural enterprises here on the coast while promoting the use of bicycles as a healthy and sustainable form of transportation. Founding Sponsor Second-Gear Sponsor Third-Gear Sponsors Frequently Asked Questions Can I walk or ride my scooter or other form of sustainable micromobility? Yes, although you may find it takes a long time to cover any of the available routes by foot! But so long as your mode of transportation is “single person sized” and electric or human-powered, we welcome your participation. What kind of food will be available at participating venues? Food offerings will differ from farm to farm depending on what is grown at each location, but you can expect to find fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms as well as some prepared foods (at the Shortcut food truck, for example) – and an incredible selection of cheeses at the Fromagerie De Baie! If we’re coming from the ferry, can we get a ride up the steep hill leading to upper Gibsons? Yes, we will be offering rides up the hill to people who pre-book and pay $5 in advance to reserve their ride. We’ll send out more info about this in future emails to registered participants. If you have any questions about this, please email heather.anderson@transportationchoices.ca . Where do I park? Parking is available at the Sunshine Coast Credit Union in Gibsons (985 Gibsons Way, Gibsons). There is no other designated parking. Please do not park on shoulders or other roadways that will interfere with cyclists. There is NO parking available at Persephone. Can I drive my car instead? Can I ride my e-bike? Yes, absolutely! We welcome e-bike users to participate. As with any situation where e-bikes and non e-bikes are riding together, we ask that all participants remain conscientious of their speeds and passing distances for the well-being of all road users. This is an event to promote active transportation so we would ask you not to drive as part of this event for safety reasons. There will be hundreds of cyclists on the roads where vendors are located that day and it would be better to keep cars separated from all those bikes as much as possible. We ask motorists to watch out for the hundreds of cyclists on the roads in upper Gibsons during the event and exercise patience and caution when they encounter cyclists. Do I have to register to participate? Yes, registration is required. As part of our efforts to keep everybody safe, we require all participants to read and sign our rider waiver to ensure you have all of the necessary information needed to participate in the event. What kind of safety measures will be in place to protect cyclists? We will have two managed crossings to help cyclists cross high-traffic areas. These crossings will be when crossing Highway 101 at the Roberts Creek turnoff (Hwy 101 at Highland Road) as well as at the intersection near Persephone (Hwy 101 at North Road/Stewart Rd). We will also have volunteer cyclists patrolling the routes to help people find where they’re going and ensure that cyclists all follow the rules of the road. As well, safety and info contact numbers will be supplied to all participants and the local authorities will be alerted to our event. Is this event safe for young children? This is a family-friendly activity and we encourage you to bring your children if they are experienced bike users or are being transported in a bike trailer or child seat on an adult bike. Most of the venues are on country roads, with some accessible only by riding through the town of Gibsons or for a short ride on the 101 highway just outside of town. Just be aware that ⚠️ participating cyclists will be sharing the roads with cars ⚠️, so only bring your kids if you’re comfortable with having them on bikes with larger vehicles driving past. Design & graphics by The Sunshine Coast Slow Food Cycle is brought to you by TraC, a local member-based active transportation group. TraC’s mission is to support healthy communities and reduce the Sunshine Coast’s carbon footprint by promoting more active and sustainable transportation alternatives to private vehicles, including cycling, walking, and transit. If you care about making it easier for all Sunshine Coast residents to get to where they’re going without always having to use a car, please consider becoming a member! Join TraC

< Back Join us at Car Free on Cowrie Aug 22, 2024 Join us on Cowrie Street in Sechelt for a day of family-friendly fun! We’re transforming the street into a car-free paradise to celebrate the local businesses and offer fun activities everyone can enjoy, including live music from local band The Hook, food vendors, a beer garden featuring tasty beverages from Batch 44 and Brickers Cider, bike polo, free bike tuneups, bike decorating, and more. Don't miss our unique "Pedal 'n Polish" (like a Show 'n Shine but with bikes)! Join us on Cowrie Street in Sechelt for a day of family-friendly fun! We’re transforming the street into a car-free paradise to celebrate the local businesses and offer fun activities everyone can enjoy, including live music from local band The Hook , food vendors, a beer garden featuring tasty beverages from Batch 44 and Brickers Cider , bike polo, free bike tuneups, bike decorating, and more. Don't miss our unique "Pedal 'n Polish" (like a Show 'n Shine but with bikes)! Previous Next

Bike Valet What's a bicycle valet? A bicycle valet is a volunteer-run service at events where attendees can park their bike in a secured area for free! A valet volunteer will always be present to check in/out your bike so you don’t have to worry about securing your bike while you’re enjoying the event. Why use a bike valet or host one? The service encourages attendees to ride their bicycles to the event. The benefits to users are a happier, healthier commute and not having to worry about securing your bike. For event organizers it helps create a “greener” event since it encourages alternative transportation and reduces problems with traffic congestion and vehicle parking which can interfere with event logistics and cause safety problems. Contact us to host a valet! How it works The bike valet works similar to a coat-check: Bring your bike to the valet. You will be given a card and a copy will be placed on your bike. BE SURE NOT TO LOSE THIS CARD! You will need this to pick up your bike. Your bike will be parked in a enclosed, highly-visible, volunteer-manned area. A volunteer will always be next to the bike area during the event to ensure your bike is secure. When it’s time to go home, bring your card and a volunteer will give you your bike! As the valet relies on volunteers, it is important to have a fixed closing time. All users will be asked to pick their bike up by a set time, determined with the event organizers. What happens if I lose my card? We rarely have problems and don’t expect you to lose your card. Treat it like cash, a driver’s license or another important document. How much is it? It’s completely free for people to leave their bikes at the bike valet. If you are an event organizer and would like to host one, we will set up and take down the valet at no charge. You have two options for manning the valet. Option 1: Your event provides the valet volunteers. We recommend at least two volunteers over the course of a shift. This way one can relieve the other at various times. We will train your volunteers how to run it. Option 2: We run the valet. We charge a hourly rate to operate. Can I park my child’s chariot or trailer? Yes! You can also leave your helmet and other cycling accessories by your bike. What happens if I forget to pick up my bike? By using the service you agree that we are not responsible for any bikes or associated equipment left after the valet closes. Leftover bikes will be left with the event organizers. Then it would be up to you to contact the event organizer to retrieve your bike. Are there other bike valets? We are certainly not the first group to organize a bike valet. Bicycle valets have been implemented in many areas of the world including the very successful Bicycle Valet in Vancouver, BC run by BEST. Interested in hosting a bike valet? Contact us !

Image created by Beyond Typical and is an accurate representation of Highway 101 with our proposed Multi-Use Path, near Oceanview Drive. The proposed infrastructure will improve safety and accessibility. Connect the Coast is a project to build AAA active transportation infrastructure along the Sunshine Coast Highway What’s New and What’s Next What, Where, Why and How Assessment and Prioritization Connecting Gibsons & Roberts Creek Media About Us

Get in Touch PO Box 236 Roberts Creek, BC V0N 2W0 First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!

Who we are Our Vision Sunshine Coast residents enjoy a safe and efficient network of sustainable and active transportation options. Our Mission TraC is a member-based organization that works to support healthy communities and reduce the Sunshine Coast’s carbon footprint by promoting more active and sustainable transportation alternatives to private vehicles, including cycling, walking, and transit. Become a member Board of directors Stephen Forgacs Chair Kylie Hutchinson Vice-chair Nick Smith Secretary Alun Woolliams Martin Prestage Heather Anderson Rob Bennie Cedric Eveleigh Erin Whalen Our Supporters

What, Where, Why and How What Our goal is to make it safe & enjoyable to walk, bike or roll between Sunshine Coast, BC communities using a paved AAA (All Ages & Abilities) multi-use path parallel to, but separated from, the busy Highway 101. Multi-use paths exist in communities throughout BC and are essential transportation and recreation resources for cyclists and pedestrians. Examples of AAA purpose-built trails connecting rural BC communities include: Markin – MacPhail Westside Legacy Trail (25 kms of paved pathway connecting Invermere and Fairmont Hot Springs) Whistler Valley Trail (a 50 km interconnected trail network connecting communities in the Whistler Valley) Tofino – Ucluelet (a 40 km multi-jurisdictional trio of trails) Cycle 16 (12 kms of paved pathway connecting Smithers and Telkwa – a work in progress) Where The long term goal of Connect the Coast is to build AAA active transportation infrastructure from Langdale to Lund. But, let’s face it, that’s 143 kms of infrastructure along a constrained right-of-way traversing some difficult terrain. It’s going to take a long time. So we developed some metrics to help us prioritize sections for development. These are: connect destinations build where demand is greatest use secondary roads where possible fix the places the community finds most dangerous Using these metrics, our priorities are: Gibsons - Roberts Creek Connector: Pratt Road Lower/Highland Road; Roberts Creek - Ts’ukw’um: Roberts Creek Provincial Campground to Field Road Davis Bay – Sechelt Village Connector: Whitaker Road to Wharf Avenue Why It’s good for business: more and lower-impact tourism increased revenue for local businesses less space needed for parking more options for employees to get to work It’s good for families: reduced cost-of-living more independence for youth less chauffeuring for parents better access to recreation It’s good for public budgets: a fraction of the cost of adding a general purpose highway lane cheaper to maintain than a highway lane more exercise and fewer collisions translate directly to lower health care costs It’s good for the environment: less air, water and noise pollution reduced GhG emissions and impacts less need to build a new highway through forested areas It’s good for the community: reduces pressure on the ferry and highway systems reduces unfairness by providing a safe transportation option for people who cannot or choose not to drive creates a space for building community How Because this is a public infrastructure project proposed to be built on public land, it cannot succeed without government involvement. But government won’t build something like this without a big push from the people. Our goal is to provide that push by working to: raise awareness of the project and its benefits; educate ourselves and others about the regulatory and budgetary processes underlying successful infrastructure projects; participate in and try to influence these processes, and educate others on how they can do the same; raise money via grants and donations to fund planning and design work; work with contractors and stakeholders to develop credible and feasible plans with reliable cost estimates for construction and maintenance; work with local and provincial governments to find solutions to the barriers they face in building projects like this. If you want more on the What, Where, Why and How, listen to these interviews with: Director Tannis Braithwaite Project Manager Allan Kindrat What some of our supporters have to say about the project "We believe that this initiative, in addition to attracting a greater number of tourists to the Sunshine Coast and beyond, will help accelerate the shift to a lower impact, more sustainable form of tourism, as well as provide foundational support for the emergence of existing and emerging green tourism businesses on the Sunshine Coast.” Annie Wise / Executive Director / Sunshine Coast Tourism “The Connect the Coast Society's goal of building a MUP from Langdale to Sechelt and, eventually, from Sechelt to Lund, will benefit Sunshine Coast residents and visitors alike. In particular, residents who do not or cannot drive, our elders and our youth will benefit from the addition of a safe and cost-effective active transportation option to our limited transportation network, which is currently designed for and dominated by motorized vehicles.” Catherine Leach / Executive Director / Sunshine Coast Community Services “The Connect the Coast project provides an opportunity to begin transforming how people get around on the Sunshine Coast. This infrastructure would provide safe, alternative transportation choices that people on the Sunshine Coast don’t currently enjoy.” Anna Lattanzi / Working Group Member / Sunshine Coast Climate Action Network “Connect the Coast aims to connect the diverse communities within the Sunshine Coast by establishing vital cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. This All Ages and Abilities (AAA) initiative is being spearheaded by Transportation Choices Sunshine Coast (TraC), and holds remarkable potential to bring notable benefits that will enhance the health and well-being of our coastal region's residents and visitors.” Dr Moliehi Khaketla / Medical Health Officer / Vancouver Coastal Health For a discussion of the barriers to building multi-use paths in BC’s rural areas, see Exploring the Lack of Active Transportation Infrastructure in British Columbia , a 2025 report prepared for Connect the Coast by Drewyn Lau. Previous | Next

Media 2026 March - Get Moving Monthly Feature: Connect the Coast January - The Path to a Greener Coast: Why the Connect the Coast trail is a game-changer – Bicycle Broker 2025 October - Connect the Coast shares multi-use path design - Coast Reporter August - Letter: Some good news for everyone in Highway 101 study - Coast Reporter May - What's happening with the Connect the Coast project? - Coast Reporter March - It's Good To Share - ITS International January - Opinion: Act, before another person dies on Highway 101 - Coast Reporter 2024 May - What's happening with the Connect the Coast project? - Coast Reporter March - Sunshine Coast Tourism makes cycling network presentation to qathet Regional District directors - Coast Reporter February - More cyclists than ever are biking onto the Langdale ferry - Coast Reporter February - A new route from Sechelt to Lund, for humans, not cars - Coast Reporter 2023 November - What’s next for the Langdale to West Sechelt active transportation route proposal? - Coast Reporter Previous | Next