Bike to Work and School Week kicked off in Kelowna Monday with a call from the citysa国际传媒檚 mayor to not only look at alternative forms of transportation, but also to encourage others to take their own action on climate change.

Mayor Colin Basran, speaking at at the kick-off event in Stuart Park, veered off script during his remarks to talk about recent sa国际传媒榮carysa国际传媒� reports on the impact of climate change and to urge the members od the public to do their part to fight it, including by looking at ways of getting out of their vehicles when it comes to travel.

sa国际传媒淭he message that needs to continue to resonate with our residents is, and I hope you take it away today, theresa国际传媒檚 no sense arguing on social media with climate change deniers,sa国际传媒� said Basran.

sa国际传媒淟ets encourage people to get out this week. Letsa国际传媒檚 not say sa国际传媒業sa国际传媒檓 better because I rode my bike,sa国际传媒� but letsa国际传媒檚 encourage those who maybe think they donsa国际传媒檛 have the time or think itsa国际传媒檚 too hard. Letsa国际传媒檚 show them that itsa国际传媒檚 not hard. Letsa国际传媒檚 show them that itsa国际传媒檚 fun.sa国际传媒�

Bike to Work and School Week encourages the public to ride their bikes instead of driving in single occupancy vehicles during the week and, to aid in that, the city has set up six celebration stations throughout the Central Okanagan. The stations offer refreshments, bike checks, yoga and opportunities to enter prize draws.

This year, 29 schools have signed up to participate in the week-long event.

Basran told the crowd gathered in Stuart Park Monday that every weekday residents of Kelowna collectively drive 1.7 million kilometres, four times the distance to the moon.

sa国际传媒淭he fewer single occupancy trips we make the better it is for those who need to drive, and for our air quality,sa国际传媒� he said.

According to Basran, if the 50,000 people expected to move to Kelowna over the next 20 years own as many cars as current residents, sa国际传媒渂oy, are we in trouble.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚t would be the equivalent of adding a line of cars from Kelowna to Hope to our road network,sa国际传媒� he added.

In recent years the city has stepped up its moves to make alternative transportation more appealing to locals with an increased number of bike lanes and paths, as well as multi-use corridors.

READ MORE: Bike to Work Week in Central Okanagan more popular than ever

Coun. Loyal Wooldridge, who said he rides his bike to work a lot, said like many, safety on the road is a big concern for him. He rides to work downtown from his Glenmore home.

He plans his routes based on the citysa国际传媒檚 alternative transportation maps to make sure he is as safe as possible.

Both Basran and Wooldridge said they are happy with what the city has done to encourage alternative transportation in the city so far, but both feel it can, and should, do more.

Basran said he has a number of initiatives he would like to see addressed, including talking to the downtown Kelowna Association about possibly closing sections of Bernard Avenue occasionally to encourage people to get out of their cars and walk on the citysa国际传媒檚 main downtown street.

He pointed to the success of the annual Block Party that takes place on the street as an example of popular such a move could be.

He said he is also looking at creating a mayorsa国际传媒檚 or council task force on climate change to look at the impact on the city and what can, and should, be done.

Penticton already has such a task force, as do many other B.C. municipalities.

Bike to Work and School Week will run until June 2.

To register, for prize details and for event information go to .

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