Cycling Without Age is a global micromobility movement that makes seniors feel welcome again in their own communities—and CITY Institute Research fellow Darnel Harris is bringing it to Northwest Toronto!
Darnel Harris’ (MES, 2015) ongoing applied research on eliminating sustainable micromobility barriers is rooted in the local mobility struggles faced by residents and businesses in northwest Toronto year-round. Traveling without electrically assisted and mechanized transportation is often simply not feasible, given the distances between locations and the items that have to be carried—even if the roads were safe. Inspired by the emotional and physical burdens that the ongoing pandemic has placed on seniors, his not-for-profit, Our Greenway combined efforts with the Toronto Council on Aging, which is a not-for-profit addressing the issues and concerns of older adults in Toronto. Working together, they raised funding to secure six trikes to support micromobility research and programming for seniors – four trishaws and two personal trikes.
During Downsview Park’s Earth Day event held on April 24th 2022, Our Greenway and Toronto Council on Aging held a test event, providing trishaw rides to families who visited the Park. Given Downsview’s size many do not get the opportunity to appreciate the pond, overlooks, woods and orchard – however, an e-trishaw trip makes that all possible.
The cycling event was a great success. Due to extremely high demand for trips, all visitors could not be accommodated despite the fact that twice as many riders were accommodated in the limited time available. An extra volunteer trishaw driver and slightly longer time period enabled forty people to enjoy the wind in their hair over a three hour period. The trishaws will be returning to Downsview Park for an 8 week summer program starting in early July; participants will be able to book tickets and enjoy the relaxing, refreshing sites of the lush Park. To learn more about Our Greenway and how to secure tickets, look here: https://twitter.com/OurGreenway
