City council was urged Monday night by many kids and a couple of parents to keep the push on to establish a safe network of bike paths in the city.

Many of the seven young students bike every day from the Takhini subdivision to their Ecole Whitehorse Elementary School in a group led by an adult, known as the Takhini bike bus.

“We bike through winter unless it is really icy or below minus 30,” nine-year-old Sitka Land-Gillis told members of council.

“I bike to school as much as possible because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions; it is fun and I get more exercise,” 10-year-old Kieran Horton said during his brief presentation. “I am very enthusiastic about stopping climate change.”

Horton said there are times he does not feel safe, and he has seen disrespectful drivers.

Many of the kids told council there are drivers in Whitehorse who need to start following the rules of the road, like stopping at red lights and keeping a respectful distance from cyclists with whom they share the road.

The kids emphasized that having a connected network of bike trails separate from roadways would go a long way toward encouraging others to bike.

Grade 7 student Jonah McConnell presented a letter on behalf of Ecole Whitehorse Elementary principal Sharon MacCoubrey because she was unable to attend Monday’s meeting.

“I wish to show our support for the implementation of the city’s Bicycle Network Plan to ensure our students have a connected and protected bike route to safely commute to school on a regular basis,” read the letter as presented by McConnell.

“We would like to encourage our youth to be active and pursue a healthy lifestyle. To ensure that these choices become lifelong habits, our students need to be physically active when they are young. One way to be healthy and active is to commute to school.”

In her letter, the principal calls upon the city to commit to a timeline for funding the Bicycle Network Plan adopted by city council in June 2018.

“Please support a safe bicycle infrastructure in Whitehorse for this generation and the next.”

The Bicycle Network Plan sets out a number of long-term visions.

Jocelyn Land-Murphy, a naturopathic doctor, parent and lead cyclist of the bike bus, told council it’s quite a sight to see 10 riders coming down the bike path on Two Mile Hill, all lit up in safety lights.

Having a safe network of connected bike paths would be beneficial for people of all ages and abilities, she said.

She said they all support the Bicycle Network Plan, and would like to see implementation occurring in five years.

Establishing a safe network of trails is particularly relevant in light of the city’s recent declaration of a climate emergency, she said.

Land-Murphy and Whitehorse Elementary teacher Sarah Johnson started an online petition in support of implementing the network plan. The petition was presented to council Monday night.

She noted it had received support so far from more than 2,100 signatories.

Land-Murphy noted the 2014 transportation management plan adopted by the city does authorize the use of money from the city’s parking reserve fund and federal gas tax funding to support sustainable transportation modes – biking.

The petition calls upon the city to:

1. Commit to and develop a specific timeline for implementing the priority areas identified in the Bicycle Network Plan (including connecting Two Mile Hill to the Riverfront Trail and improving access to the downtown core) by 2022, as specified in the Bicycle Network Plan.

2. Alter the “Purpose, Criteria, Conditions for Use” portion of the Parking Reserve Fund Bylaw to permit the use of funds for capital costs of projects related to sustainable transportation modes, in order to fund capital and staffing costs required to implement the plan.

“Whitehorse currently lacks safe cycling routes for children and their families to access Whitehorse schools, especially downtown,” says the petition.

Council heard Monday night how cyclists are often forced to travel the main roadways, or hop up onto sidewalks.

It is most desirable to have bicycle paths separated from the roadways, council heard.

The intersection at Second and Fourth avenues is particularly troublesome, the Whitehorse Elementary teacher said.

Johnson said she was struck on her bike last winter and dragged into the middle of the roadway. It was lucky she wasn’t riding with any of the kids at the time or towing a bike trailer with her youngest aboard, she said.

“We need to make sure our children, our families have access to safe bicycle routes.”

Coun. Samson Hartland said he is in full support of a safe bike network. As a resident of the MacPherson subdivision, his three kids bike to their Hidden Valley School without facing the challenges cyclists in the downtown face, he said.

Hartland also noted, however, the availability of funding is a reality. To fulfill all of the commitments made in the Bicycle Network Plan would be approximately $50 million, and $12.6 million for the downtown alone, he said.

Mike Gau, the city’s director of development services, told council and the young students and parents in the audience that city staff have worked diligently on the goals set out in the network plan since it was adopted last year.

A lot of the focus was on the concerns raised raised Monday night, he said.

He said addressing issues requires a lot of design work.

“There is actually a long list of work being done to address those issues, and I think we are making great progress,” Gau said.