YOUTH EN ROUTE
Inspiring safe, active travel to school and beyond
About Youth En Route
Look at any bike rack at a High School on a sunny day. Chances are you won’t find many bikes. For many youth, bikes were fun in elementary school, but usage as a mode of transportation decreases with age.
Why? It’s more difficult than you might think. Many schools have bike racks that aren’t secure. Student’s don’t have strong U-Locks and are worried about theft. Students who only see Calgary from the seat of a car don’t know the safest routes or the rules for biking. At one of our schools, 11 per cent of students told us they’d never ridden a bike.
This is why Youth En Route was created in 2021. We want youth to have a green, healthy choice to get to school. Our programming and projects empower youth to be able to make this choice.
Here is what we do
We’ve delivered 20 Adaptive Bikes to eight Calgary High Schools, and we do not plan on stopping there. We want to make sure every student gets to experience the joy of bike riding! Adaptive Bike Project gets special kids rolling.
University of Calgary graduate Nada Affan, conducting an engagement session at Bishop McNally HS to gather insights for Youth en Route’s Infrastructure Reports.
Brand new bike rack at Dr. E.P Scarlett HS, full of bikes, made by Forest Lawn HS welding class. Look at this community spirit and our new and improved bike rack design.
We break barriers for youth to be able to use active modes of transportation everywhere in the city, including on Calgary Transit.
We commit to recycling all donated and found bikes, giving them a new cycle of life after a quick maintenance check. Otherwise, all bike parts are recycled in a sustainable manner.
With our new Cyclist in Residence program, we are able to empower students with new skills, like cycling, fixing bikes and knowing the riles of the roads.
Youth En Route aims to break down the barriers that stop students from using active transportation to get to school.
Incorporated on May 11, 2021 as 13008037 Canada Association.
Registered Charity 758178461RR0001
Join us in supporting active student transportation!
We always welcome new groups to partner with. Let’s work together on shared infrastructure, ideas and equipment – to make all of our funds go further, and get more kids out of cars and using independent, active and green transportation.
How to get involved
There are various ways that you can get involved in our initiative.