Ontarians Walking Now

Ontarians Walking Now (OWN) was a two year project with funding support from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion which achieved outstanding results from many of the 68 participating communities.  OWN, which officially wrapped up on March 31, 2010 assisted communities in putting pedestrians first in their planning processes in order to create sustainable, healthy, active communities. OWN also encouraged the activity of walking by introducing resources and activities to meet the urgent need to get Ontarians walking NOW!

Here are a few notable examples of actions that were undertaken at the community level:

The Township of Uxbridge

• Hosted an Ontario Communities walkON community forum and high school forum.
• Township staff attended an Urban Poling Instructor course within days of attending the OWN workshop;
• within the 3 month time frame, Urban Poling demos were held, a loan program set up at the community centre, and regular classes are now being held;
• a pedometer lending program was initiated at the library;
• October was declared “Walking Month” and a Trails Festival was held on October 3rd with Uxbridge Township officially being declared as the Trails Capital of Canada;
• an Indoor Walking Trail kicked off in early November using the halls of Uxbridge Secondary School;
• Uxbridge Council signed the International Charter for Walking;
• planning is now underway for the revitalization of downtown with many considerations to improving the pedestrian experience.

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The Town of Ajax

• Used OWN pedometer kit to create a walking challenge. “Ajax is Walking” began on July 2nd, 2009, with the goal of participants walking the 6,250,000 steps from Ajax to Vancouver ADD: This goal was achieved on February 25th, prior to the closing ceremonies. Pedometer kits were placed in each of the Town’s three libraries. The kits were signed out like a book or DVD for one week. A monthly draw was conducted for each person that returned the kits on time. The Main Branch had a wait list for the majority of time since the July 2nd launch!
• As a result of this success, a second pedometer challenge is running throughout July and August 2010. Now Ajacians are walking World Cup city to World Cup city visiting Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Durban to Port Elizabeth – a total of 3,965,000 steps. Walk ON, Ajax! www.townofajax.com
• Creating a pedestrian and bicycling master plan that will be an integral part of the Ajax Forward: Vibrant Streets comprehensive transportation plan. Ajax Forward is part of the official plan review. www.townofajax.com
• Ajax Forward: Vibrant Streets:
  • Calls for adoption of the Child and Youth-Friendly Transportation and Land Use Planning Guidelines and incorporates all the principles of the International Charter for Walking.
  • Includes developing and facilitating active and safe routes to school.
• The Town is moving forward with implementation of a School Travel Planning pilot project.

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Healthy Living Perth (Perth County)

• Formed a working group to implement their OWN action items, called MovingON.
• Participated in the Ontario Communities WalkON project, holding a series of forums with residents, decision makers, students, and seniors. Featuring a passionate presentation by international walkability expert, Gil Penalosa, Executive Director of 8-80 Cities, a total of 230 participants provided valuable recommendations to make their communities more walkable.
• The events garnered local media attention and have created a real “buzz” for the topic of walkable communities.
• The councils of Stratford and North Perth have both signed the International Charter for Walking while the Town of St. Mary’s signed a customized version of the Active Communities Charter (K. Bergeron, author).
• Three “Walk and Roll” events took place in April. Stratford’s was held April 4 in conjunction with the annual swan release.
• MovingON is using the International Charter to aid in creating a strategic framework for action

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Coe Hill

• Walkability features have been incorporated into the Coe Hill Downtown Revitalization Final Report. A few of the recommendations include the improvement of sidewalk infrastructure, the addition of three crosswalks to complete a “walking circuit,” and the creation of a “gathering place” on main street where walkers can sit and rest and visit and enjoy the beautiful gardens of this small, rural hamlet.
• A pedometer lending program has been established.