E-scooters and food security are the subjects of a pair of motions that will be up for consideration at the Jan. 22 city council meeting.
Included on the agenda for the Jan. 8 Salmon Arm council meeting were two notices of motion. One, from Coun. Debbie Cannon, asks that council request the city’s Active Transportation Advisory Committee to review and provide comment on the introduction of an e-scooter pilot program, similar to the one in Vernon. That information will be brought back for consideration at a future council meeting.
Cannon’s motion notes the city has adopted an Active Transportation Network Plan that “acknowledges that new and shared mobility options, including e-scooters, present opportunities for increasing accessibility and use of active transportation within Salmon Arm.” The motion also notes new and shared mobility options can present challenges, “including safety issues related to travel speeds, impact on pathway material, etc.”
The second motion, from Coun. David Gonella, asks that council support the advancement of a Food and Urban Agriculture Plan “by directing staff to begin work on scope and potential funding opportunities and report back to council by July, 2024.” The motion arrives at this ask after raising several points around food insecurity – “commonly recognized as the inability to acquire or consume an adequate diet quality or sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways, or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so.”
“It is widely acknowledged that food insecurity is a significant societal health problem that is associated with poor health outcomes, and is an obstacle to social, emotional and psychological well-being,” reads the motion, which goes on to note factors affecting food security are complex and can include income, employment and housing. “At the community-level, food supply chains (e.g. production, storage and transport), food costs and shared cultural values are just some factors that impact the accessibility, availability and nutritional adequacy of food.”
The motion also notes how climate change is exacerbating matters through destabilizing weather patterns needed for crop production, “resulting in drought and more violent storm systems throughout Canada.”
Gonella points out the need for a Food and Urban Agriculture Plan has been identified as a medium term (2025-2027) priority in the city’s corporate strategic plan, and that the city’s Agricultural Advisory Committee Terms mandate “includes increasing public awareness, education and support for the role Agriculture plays in regional food security.”
The two motions are expected to be on the agenda for the Jan. 22 council meeting.
Read more: Growing our future with food security
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