Active Transportation

Wayfinding

The City is also working on the Wayfinding Plan, with the goal of creating wayfinding signage system that directs people to primary destinations. An active transportation wayfinding portion is also being implemented to help pedestrians, cyclists, and other active modes to navigate the city. Elements of wayfinding include: making maps, street signs, trail signs, and other information easier to access.

Active Transportation Plan (ATP)

In 2019, the City has approved and published the updated Active Transportation Plan to help meet the needs of our community, both now and in the future. The ATP outlines objectives and information to support a growing mobility network through the Priority Networks, which have a goal of implementation by 2038. 

Bike Racks for Businesses

The Bike Racks for Business program helps make bike parking more available to active transportation users through two streams:

Private Business

If you are a private business interested in adding bike parking for your customers, you can purchase a City of Thunder Bay galvanized steel inverted-u bike rack. The rack comes with four concrete expansion anchors, and the Mobility Coordinator can help with site selection. The business is responsible for installation and maintenance of the rack. 

Public Parking

If you are an active transportation user or a business fronted on public property and you think the area would benefit from more bike parking, you can make that suggestion to the Mobility Coordinator. 

Bike Parking

Helping you get around actively is important to the City of Thunder Bay and similarly to cars, bikes also greatly benefit from designated parking.

The Bike Parking Guidelines were created with the aim of helping cyclists and facilities understand how to create an environment suitable to keeping bikes secure and make cycling a more accessible activity.

For more information on Bike Parking, Bike Racks and more contact the City of Thunder Bay's Mobility Coordinator.

The City of Thunder Bay works with community organizations to offer programs and services aiming to help make active transportation more safe, easy, and fun. These programs are diverse and range from encouraging activity to educating citizens on how to navigate our network.

TBay on the Move!

The Active Commute Challenge takes place annually, with early bird starting near the end of May and the main event taking place for the month of June. 

The Active Commute Challenge encourages you to rethink your ride (car) and replace it with something active such as walking, cycling, taking the bus, jogging, or rollerblading. 

Join others at your workplace to compete against other workplaces in Thunder Bay. By signing up you can track your commutes, see your team’s progress and keep track of your closest competitors on the leaderboard. 

Bike Valet

Mobility and Events have partnered up to deliver a free bike parking valet at some city-run events. Ditch the vehicle! Just come to the event, grab your ticket from the valet, leave your bike, enjoy the activities, and trade your ticket for your bike when you're done! 

Check the City Events page and the Events Calendar to see if the valet is available at the event you're interested in attending. 

Learning Opportunities

Ecosuperior

Ecosuperior offers a variety of active transportation-based programming such as Day Camps and Learn to Ride to help you build the skills and confidence to ride.  

There is also a Community Traffic Garden (miniature streetscape) where you can learn and practice the rules of the road while you play in a safe car-free space. The garden is located by Hammarskjold High School at the West End Park on Clarkson Street South. Watch this Eco-Tip video to learn more. 

Community Spokes

Community Spokes is a cycling hub that offers repair services, parts, used bike sales and trades, and an opportunity to learn and practice basic bicycle maintenance while learning from experienced people with free access to tools and space.  

Thunder Bay District Health Unit

The Health Unit has a whole page dedicated to Active Transportation, which shares tips and safety information for riders. 

We have developed a high-level multi-use trails map showing the bike lanes and multi-use trails in Thunder Bay to help you get started with active transportation.

Crossing signals are made of different phases, the EcoSuperior Eco-Tip video below does a great job explaining what they mean and how to use pedestrian crossings safely.