Vélo Quebec's silver stamp of approval

Concordia has received a silver medal from Vélo Quebec for its efforts in accommodating cyclists travelling to and from the downtown Sir George Williams Campus.

Bringing together the province’s cycling community since 1967, Vélo Quebec is a non-profit organization that aims to promote the use of bicycles for transportation, recreation and tourism.

The university was recognized by the group’s Vélo Sympathique program — alongside Université Laval, Université de Montréal and Université de Sherbrooke — for its great cycling culture, infrastructure and active promotion of the activity.

“We’re doing well in terms of the biking facilities we offer,” says Chantal Forgues, sustainability coordinator with Concordia’s Environmental Health and Safety. “However, there is room for improvement.”

Inspired by the Bicycle Friendly America program, Vélo Sympathique awards organizations with bronze, silver and gold certifications. The criteria used by the program’s panel of seven judges include available infrastructure and educational programming as well as encouragement of cycling, bike safety and planning.

In three years when it comes time to renew its certification, Forgues says Concordia will be aiming for gold.

“The expectation from Vélo Quebec is that we will go above and beyond what we are currently doing. As part of that we would like to focus on creating a series of educational programs,” Forgues says.

Moving forward, she hopes more people take advantage of Concordia being an extremely bike-accessible university.

“We’re very lucky to have both campuses directly on major bike routes. Some people cycle to work or to school from as far away as the South Shore and I would like to make everyone aware of what’s possible and how we can help.”

Find out more about sustainable transportation at Concordia.