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OGRA Welcomes the 2021-2022 Board of Directors

Oakville, ON, February 26, 2021 – Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) is pleased to announce its 2021-2022 Board of Directors. The installation of the board took place this past week at its annual conference, which because of the pandemic was held online.

OGRA welcomes its new President, Dave Burton, Mayor, Municipality of Highlands East.

“We look forward to Dave Burton’s leadership as the new President of the OGRA Board. At the same time, we are grateful for Rick Harms’ service as President during a most unusual year”, said Scott Butler, OGRA’s Executive Director. “The board will be a valuable strategic resource as we look for ways to help municipalities understand the opportunities available to them after the pandemic.” continued Mr. Butler.

OGRA helps municipalities and First Nations succeed through advancing technology and infrastructure, through its training and education courses, advocacy and services.

OGRA 2021-2022 Board of Directors is:

Executive Members
Dave Burton, OGRA President and Mayor, Municipality of Highlands East
Paul Schoppmann, OGRA First Vice-President and Mayor, Municipality of St. Charles
John Parsons, OGRA Second Vice-President and Division Manager, Road Operations and Forestry, City of London
Bryan Lewis, OGRA Third Vice-President and Councillor, Town of Halton Hills
Rick Harms, Immediate Past President and Project Engineer, City of Thunder Bay

Directors
Melissa Abercrombie, Manager, Engineering Services, Oxford County
Paul Ainslie, Councillor, City of Toronto
Chris Angelo, Director of Public Works & Environmental Services, City of Quinte West
Antoine Boucher, Director of Public Works and Engineering, Municipality of East Ferris
Nazzareno Capano, Manager of Transportation Policy and Innovation, City of Toronto
Aakash Desai, Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Grey Highlands
Kelly Elliott, Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Thames Centre
Cheryl Fort, Mayor, Township of Hornepayne
Donna Jebb, Councillor, Town of New Tecumseth
Travis Wilson, Director of Public Works, Township of Minden Hills

About Ontario Good Roads Association
The Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) was founded in 1894. Based out of Oakville, Ontario, OGRA is governed by 15 board members with 17 staff supporting its membership. The mandate of the Ontario Good Roads Association is to advance the infrastructure and transportation interests of its members through training, advocacy and services.

For more information, please contact:
Rachel Swiednicki
Manager, Communications and Marketing
Ontario Good Roads Association
1525 Cornwall Road, Unit 22
Oakville, ON L6J 0B2
P. 289-291-OGRA (6472) ext. 30
C. 905-630-0542

Heads Up Alert: Province Announces Cargo E-Bike Pilot Program

On Monday, March 1, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced a pilot program to permit the use of larger cargo e-bikes.

Municipalities wishing to permit the use of cargo e-bikes can now do so by the enacting a bylaw. Many smaller cargo e-bikes currently meet Ontario’s definition for power-assisted bicycles (e-bikes). This pilot program is specifically for larger cargo e-bikes that do not currently meet the definition of e-bikes. The pilot program sets out specific vehicle and operator requirements. These are linked below.

Highlights of the program include:

As with regular bicycles or e-bikes, all Highway Traffic Act rules of the road apply to cargo e-bikes. Penalties will also apply to violations of the pilot regulation (fines of $250 to $2,500).
Cargo e-bikes are only permitted in those municipalities that pass by-laws to permit their use.
Cargo e-bike operators are required to report any collisions in which they are involved to police in order to allow enforcement to report collisions to the ministry.
Similar experiments in other jurisdictions have shown that cargo e-bikes are an innovative modality that efficiently facilitates less carbon-intensive movement of goods. These devices have proven to be a key component of right-sized fleets and an effective tool in addressing congestion.

OGRA supports this pilot project because it preserves the decision-making authority of municipal governments while also enabling private sector innovation.

For more information, you can review the regulatory changes at:

O. Reg. 141/21: PILOT PROJECT – CARGO POWER-ASSISTED BICYCLES
Cargo E-bike Pilot Program

For Municipal Guidelines on Cargo E-Bikes Click Here