As 2025 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who chose to walk, bike, roll, carpool, or combine modes to get around Fredericton this year, and to everyone who supported and encouraged active transportation in all its forms.
This year was about showing up: in person, in conversations, and in decision-making spaces. And it mattered.
Looking back: what we did together in 2025
In-person engagement and discussion
Our spring in-person session was a chance to connect as a community, share lived experiences, and talk honestly about what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change if active transportation is going to be a real option for more people in Greater Fredericton.
Breakfast on the bridge
In the fall, we collaborated with the Fredericton Active Transportation Committee to celebrate active commuters with coffee, donuts, and gratitude. Our two Breakfast on the Bridge events were simple, joyful reminders that people are already choosing different ways to move, often quietly, often daily.
Showing up in formal planning spaces
We also made a point of attending the City’s Integrated Mobility Plan open house, engaging directly with the materials, asking questions, and sharing perspectives grounded in lived experience. Being present in these moments matters, not just to react, but to help shape long-term mobility thinking as it’s being formed.
Research, listening, and outreach
Behind the scenes, a lot of work happened:
· reviewing studies and plans
· meeting with active transportation users and organizations
· connecting with accessibility, safety, health, and environmental stakeholders
· listening carefully to concerns, constraints, and ideas
All of this helped us build a clearer, more grounded understanding of where Fredericton is, and where it might go.
A turning point at the Mobility Committee
One of the most encouraging moments of the year came during the December Mobility Committee meeting, following the City engineers’ presentation on the third bridge assessment.
Across the discussion, something important happened: multiple councillors and the Mayor clearly articulated that mode shift is the smartest, most strategic way to address downtown congestion.
Key themes that emerged:
· serious interest in reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips
· questions about carpooling infrastructure, park-and-ride options, and non-auto solutions
· recognition that population growth has not led to proportional traffic growth, in part because of changing travel patterns
· a willingness to ask whether bold investments in mode shift could avoid or delay a $300M bridge
· explicit acknowledgement of the environmental, health, cost, and quality-of-life benefits of changing how we move
Perhaps most importantly, there was a shift in tone: from “traffic is inevitable” to “mode shift is a strategic choice.”
That is not a small change. Bravo Fredericton Mobility Committee!
Looking ahead to 2026
Next year, we’re building on this momentum.
Our priorities include:
· Presenting a proposal for an Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) to the Mobility Committee
· Collaborating with other individuals and organizations who support active commuting in Fredericton
· Continuing Breakfast on the Bridge to celebrate and normalize active commuting
· Continuing to show up in public engagement spaces, including future Integrated Mobility Plan discussions
· Strengthening and growing a vibrant active transportation community, across ages, abilities, seasons, and modes
Mode shift doesn’t happen overnight. It happens gradually when people continue to show up, when voices are heard consistently, and when planning decisions start reflecting lived experience.
Thank you
To every person who biked in the rain, walked in the cold, tried something new, spoke up, or simply supported someone else doing so: thank you.
You are already part of Fredericton’s mobility future, and we’re excited to keep building it together in 2026.
October 20th (dry weather only)
7:30–9:00 AM
North side of the Bill Thorpe Bridge (aka train bridge), by the Alexander Gibson Memorial
