Attention joggers: running on the road could land you a ticket – even if you're on a Sunday bike route, mostly free of traffic. The city has four Sunday bike routes that ban through traffic and allow cars to travel only one block, but that doesn't mean it's a free-for-all for cyclists and joggers, according to Winnipeg police. Read more.
Surrounded by reporters and cycling activists on a sunny morning in Lafontaine Park, Mayor Denis Coderre announced the city will put in place 50 kilometres of bicycle paths in 2015. The city will spend $12.5 million on 52 projects for new bicycle paths, and update the condition of 20 existing paths. Read more.
Depending on where you live, it’s safer in some places than others. While comprehensive, uniform data comparing cycling safety in cities across the country is lacking, a few studies have looked at some of Canada’s best biking spots. Perhaps not surprisingly, West Coast cities consistently come out on top. Read more.
The car might be the king of transportation in Surrey, but the city is working to change that.
Although the city was originally built with drivers in mind, Surrey is now spending $5 million on cycling infrastructure this year. Read more.
"We are talking about a huge potential economic opportunity for the County," according to Damien McCarthy, co-chair of the working group. "Each cycle tourist is worth approximately $175 a day to our County. The numbers can be huge. The sport is booming. Next door, nearly sixty percent of Quebeckers now ride bikes. It's nearly as big here." Read more.
Another professional under the Northern Health umbrella agrees. “When done safely,” said Northern Health injury prevention co-ordinator Shellie O’Brien, “cycling is a great way to get active.” But if this is your first week rolling out as part of your commute, she said, be sure to do it safely. Know the rules of the road; use hand signals; ride with the flow of traffic; and, of course, wear a helmet. Read more.
Nova Scotia's government has announced a new $600,000 grant program for trails. Energy Minister Michel Samson says Connect2 will help fund multi-use paths to encourage people to leave their cars at home for that short trip to the mall or library. Read more.
No police officers were available to speak to bike thefts Tuesday, but Sgt. Katrina O’Reilly told Metro last summer there had been a “tremendous increase” in the number of bikes being stolen in break-and-enters, rather than from an outdoor rack or off the street. Read more.
Andrea Smith, co-owner of Sidesaddle, said the women-focused bicycle boutique will be geared towards serving the growing population of women cyclists in the Lower Mainland, which has more than doubled in recent years. Read more.
It's Bike to School and Bike to Work Week in Metro Vancouver and hundreds of elementary school children have been brushing up on their road skills to learn to navigate the streets safely. Read more.
Cycling advocates are calling for a change to provincial government regulations to allow them to do “The Idaho Stop.” It is when a cyclist approaches a four-way or T-stop, and seeing no other vehicles or pedestrians in the vicinity, continues through, or slows to a rolling stop rather than a complete one. Read more.
Imagine riding to work in Salmon Arm or Sicamous or Scotch Creek along separated dedicated bike lanes. Too far-fetched for our small rural communities? Too costly? Think again. There’s a full scale retrofit happening in communities throughout BC, Canada, and North America. Read more.
A Winnipeg councillor says he wants a fair share of new bridges built in his South End ward and he's taking his concerns to city hall. As it stands, the active transportation project includes plans for several pedestrian bridges, none of which would be built in Coun. Brian Mayes St. Vital ward. Read more.
After much encouragement from the cycling community, and a bit of criticism, Waterloo council unanimously approved the installation of segregated bike lanes on King Street Monday night.
"What I understand we're doing here is we're rightsizing our road to make all road users feel better respected in that space," said Coun. Diane Freeman, an avid cyclist. Read more.
Monika Dutt, Cape Breton’s medical officer of health, practises what she preaches, so she was a natural choice to help launch Active Transportation Week in Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Read more.
The perception remains, however, that urban restaurants, services and retailers must cater to drive-up customers to be successful. This issue came into the spotlight two weeks ago as Winnipeg's new bike-and-pedestrian strategy was being presented to city council. Responding to the proposed plan, Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) wrote a letter to downtown business owners, warning them 13 new protected bike lanes to be built over the next 20 years may lead to a loss of some of the city's 2,000 on-street parking stalls. Read more.
Montreal is good, but it is far from being great. Right now, when you think of using bicycles, for example, Montreal is the best city in Canada. But is Montreal going to settle for being the best cycling city in Canada, or is Montreal going to try to be a world-class cycling city? Read more.
The streets around city hall will have a few more cyclists than normal riding around on May 25. That's because Burnaby HUB, a charity that represents the local cycling community, is organizing a five-kilometre ride for Bike Day in Canada. The second annual event is a national initiative started by advocacy group Canada Bikes and John Weston, the MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country. Read more.
Although cycling cafés are a Portlandia-level indicator that we’ve reached “peak hipster,” they’re also a sign of a larger cycling movement in London – specifically, one that crosses age, coolness and income brackets. Read more.
If you were to name the big American city with the highest rate of commuter cycling, Philadelphia might not be the first place that would come to mind. But Philly is, in fact, the U.S. city with more a million people that has that distinction. Read more.
The city will make it easier for cyclists to get through Orillia, but without removing any on-street parking. However, what will be missing from Matchedash Street are dedicated bike lanes, as had been budgeted for in the 2015 capital plan. One lane in each direction, 1.5 metres wide, was proposed for the north-south side street. When residents caught wind of the proposal, they were unimpressed. Read more.
Despite lots of talk about incorporating more movement into the lives of Canadian children, there has been little change in the way they play. The latest Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, published by Active Healthy Kids Canada, states that kids are still spending more time in front of a screen than they are kicking a ball. Read more.
The city said it is working to improve its active transportation plan for cyclists and pedestrians. Joanne Lamarche is a community development officer with Moncton and said more bike lanes and trails are part of the long term transportation plan for Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview. Read more.
The city has removed some bike lanes from its plans for the $12.7 million reconstruction of the aging and narrow section of Speedvale Avenue. Original plans that called for a four-lane road with bike lines for the entire stretch has been shelved and now bike lanes are being proposed just for the section of Speedvale that runs from Woolwich Street to Riverside Drive. The rest of Speedvale up to Manhattan would be four lanes, but no bike lanes. Read more.
A pair of researchers at the University of Minnesota recently set out to test
the theory that a connected bike network — where bike lanes provide continuous
routes between many possible destinations — is a major determinant of how many
people bike. What they actually found was a little unexpected. Connected bike
infrastructure matters, according to the study, but
not as much as the density of bike infrastructure. Read more.
This article summarizes some key success factors and learnings from six active transportation programs that were recently awarded the Landmark designation by Tools of Change. Read more.
City councillors want to put the K&P Trail extension in the fast lane. They are hoping to complete the seven-kilometre downtown section of the urban rail trail in time for Canada’s 150th birthday. Read more.
Richard Wadden, by his own admission, has been known to be a “grumpy old bugger.”
But he says he is less grumpy these days, since he started bicycling to work in Sydney from his home in Coxheath every day, year-round - with the exception of days when there is snow on the road. It’s a 12-kilometre return trip that he has now been making for three years. Read more.
Around 30 people gathered on the steps of the Cornwall Public Library at Sydney and Second Streets as organizers held a kickoff for the Cornwall & Area Active Transportation Challenge. The event is a collaboration between the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, City of Cornwall and Transition Cornwall +, where people are encouraged to walk, ride a bike, carpool or take the bus. Read more.
In the first of three public open houses scheduled for 2015 city planners presented plans for westward extensions of Chapman Mills Drive from Longfields Drive and a bus rapid transit corridor from Greenbank Road on May 7. Read more.
The city is exploring the idea of setting up a temporary pedestrian island in the middle of Macdonell Street to help people move around downtown and to provide visitors an unobstructed view of the Church of Our Lady Immaculate. Read more.
The City of Saskatoon is developing its first-ever Active Transportation Plan and wants input from cyclists, walkers, runners, skateboarders as well as people who use mobility aids on their vision for the Bridge City. Read more.
It's National Bike Week, a great excuse to hop on a two-wheeled vehicle asap. Especially because bike commuters report lower stress levels and greater feelings of freedom and relaxation than those who drive cars to work. And it benefits your little ones, too; kids who cycle to school are associated with lower odds of being overweight. Read more.
Cycle tourists spend more, take frequent trips and travel for longer periods of
time than the typical leisure tourist. And because they schedule their trips as
early as June and as late as September, cycle tourists are helping to extend
Quebec’s tourist season. These are some of the highlights of a study released by
UQAM’s Transat Chair in Tourism. Read more.
Les premiers aménagements pour les utilisateurs de vélo de Parc-Extension verront le jour, cet été. La ville-centre a annoncé la création de trois voies cyclables dans le quartier, en 2015. Read more - en francais)
Mayor Naheed Nenshi is asking Calgarians to be patient as the city continues to “experiment” with increased cycling infrastructure around the city. He spoke to the Canadian Club of Calgary on Wednesday for about an hour during a lunchtime event at the Rachmen’s Club. With more cycling tracks opening next month, Nenshi said he believes this will help ease road and LRT congestion. Read more.
While there are clear dividends in health for active transportation users, current transit infrastructure does not equally benefit all communities in Metro Vancouver. Access to transportation widens opportunity and is a significant equity issue in Metro Vancouver. Read more.
Calgary's cycle track system is expanding and is set to open at the end of June. To help cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles navigate the new routes, the city has hired five summer students to be "bicycle ambassadors." Read more.
As part of the approval he received in 2013, Seeley had to upgrade nearby Jessie and Patricia streets, improving drainage and building sidewalks. When he appeared at planning committee May 11, he said it made no sense to force him to build sidewalks that wouldn't connect to anything. Read more.
The new bike path under the train tracks on St-Laurent Boulevard has cyclists heading off helter-skelter in all directions, at some points forcing them to turn into oncoming traffic or awkwardly merge. Aref Salem, the executive committee member responsible for transportation, acknowledged there's still work to be done. Read more.
Join Senators, MPs and cyclists of all ages in this unique
event to encourage cycling as a national policy agenda item. What should be the
federal role in advancing cycling in Canada?
Bike Day On The Hill
Parliament Hill:
4:30 - 4:50pm Speeches & Group photo
4:50 - 5:30pm Interprovincial ride
Town Hall meeting: The federal role in advancing cycling
7:00 - 8:30pm in Senate Room 256
Format: Panelists representing Canada’s three major parties each have a 5
minute introduction on the topic based on their own strategic perspective and
the topic outline below presented by Canada Bikes. Questions are then received
from the audience and through phone and email sources.
On Monday, May 25, 2015, the second annual Bike Day in Canada will bring together people on bikes, cycling organizations, members of all three levels of government and the business community to highlight the importance of cycling development in Canada as a healthy, wealthy and environmentally friendly form of physical activity, transportation and tourism. Read more; get involved.
Minneapolis, regarded as the best city in North America for cyclists, has about 200 kilometres of on-street protected bike lanes alone, and 150 kilometres of trails. Another 80 kilometres are to be added by 2020. People move to Minneapolis specifically because it makes cycling an infrastructure priority. The cycling routes are regarded as a boon to businesses and merchants. Read more.
As an awareness campaign about bike safety, the city put Watch for Bikes stickers on the side-view mirrors of its fleet vehicles. The municipality is promoting active transportation and recently installed bike lanes on several roads, with more being implemented this year. Read more.
It’s incredible, really. We keep talking about the need to build segregated bike routes alongside main roadways. And here’s the city ripping up two right-hand lanes and about half the sidewalk along one of the main roads in Winnipeg and they’re going to close it up with no allowance whatsoever for a bike lane. Read more.
Whether they are walking, hiking, biking or running, Citizens 4 Active Transportation and Active Elgin are asking pedestrians to Do the Bright Thing after dark. “We're hoping to get the word out that it's important to wear reflective clothing,” said Erica Arnett, health promoter at Elgin St. Thomas Public Health. The health unit is instrumental in the Active Elgin organization and this year's Do the Bright Thing initiative. Read more.
Last fall, councillors gave a frosty reception to earlier plans for a long-range overhaul of the corridor, including separated bike lanes and narrowed traffic lanes. Instead, plans for new sidewalks and bike lanes will be merged in multi-use pathways, while automobile lanes south of Glenmore will remain 3.66 metres wide, rather than slimming to as little as 3.3 metres, which would likely slow traffic. Read more.
Although most county councillors are in favour of the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail (G2G), some members are questioning how everything came together. Read more.
On June 29, the sidewalk and bike lanes on the bridge will close. Halifax Harbour Bridges has announced a free 24-hour shuttle bus service that will run until the sidewalk and bike lanes reopen at the end of next year. Read more.
Cornwall residents are being encouraged to participate in the 2015 Active Transportation Challenge from May 31 to June 6, which will be celebrated with a kickoff at 12:15 p.m. on Friday at the Cornwall Public Library. Read more.
Complete communities exist where people do not have to travel far to meet their day-to-day needs, making it possible to walk, bike and use high-quality public transit. These communities include a mix of housing types (including affordable housing options), local jobs, access to services, parks, public spaces, and commercial districts. This way of designing communities levels the playing field for everyone including seniors, youth, people with disabilities, and low-income families so they can live and move easily, even if they are unable to drive or cannot afford a car. Read more.
St. Boniface and Osborne Village will soon have a cycling trail connecting the two neighbourhoods. The Forks has begun construction to turn a two-lane road into a multi-use access point developed for vehicle traffic, cycling and pedestrians. The project is also in partnership with Winnipeg Trails Association. Read more.
At least two city councillors think bicycle lanes in St. John's have been a big mistake. Coun. Bruce Tilley said the bike lanes in his neighbourhood serve no purpose to most people. (CBC)
Coun. Bruce Tilley — who lives in the Cowan Heights area — described the bike lanes in his neighbourhood as very lonely places that are not being used by residents who live in the area. Read more.
Over the last 12 months, nearly 1.4 million crossings have been made by people walking and cycling across the Peace Bridge. That’s works out to be an average count of more than 3,800 a day. Read more.
It began – like so many things these days – with a lively exchange on social media, and morphed into a cycling meme that is busy lapping the world. And no, it's got nothing to do with Lycra. Read more.
Most cyclists ride about a metre from the curb while riding in Toronto. But as they pedal along a treacherous stretch of road, they might choose to travel down the centre of their lane. They can avoid hazards and, if the road is particularly narrow, prevent drivers from passing when it’s not safe to do so. Read more.
“The project is to develop a three- to four-year implementation plan for bike lanes,” said city manager of engineering Ray Ford. “The overall bicycle network for the city of Belleville is a 20-plus year plan and we’re not going to build it all at once.” Read more.
The city has temporarily slammed the brakes on a proposed $330 million active transportation plan. “Over the past week I have heard from members of our local business community that the city could have done a much better job in the 2013 consultation process for the Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies,” said Bowman in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. Read more.
Two years into a 20-year plan to create more than 700 kilometres of trails in Essex County and a link to the Trans Canada Trail is worth celebrating — seven times. So beginning Tuesday, residents are invited to come to free events in seven county municipalities to celebrate the County Wide Active Transportation System and its charter — a 20-year commitment to increase walking trails and bike lanes. Read more.
In theory, as cities keep rolling out more bike lanes, bike commutes are getting easier. In practice, new bike lanes tend to double as illegal parking spots for delivery vans, idling cars, and cops getting pizza, leaving cyclists to veer into traffic to avoid crashing into obstacles. A new app is designed to let aggravated cyclists—or drivers fed up with any double-parked car blocking the road—to snap a photo and report it to the city to get it towed. Read more.
Cyclists came off looking like angels in the latest report on collisions between bikes and vehicles in Vancouver. The cycling safety report presented to city council Tuesday found that cyclists had the right-of-way in 93 per cent of vehicle-bicycle collisions where it could be determined. Read more.
On Tuesday transportation officials released data that shows that, while the car may still be king, it is declining in importance. In 2014, there was an estimated 918,000 daily trips by automobile, down from 980,000 daily in 2013. At the same time, the total number of daily trips by people on transit, by foot and on bicycle rose from 893,000 to 905,000. Much of that came from a 20-per-cent increase in cycling from 2013 to 2014. Read more.
Councillors approved a two-year bicycle lane pilot project on University Avenue. The city’s senior bureaucrat will now ink a deal with Dalhousie University to build and operate the temporary protected cycling path. Read more.
One thousand e-bikes have been unveiled across the BikeMi bike sharing system in Milan that will now complement the 3,600 existing traditional pushbikes. The city becomes the first to offer traditional and electric bikes from the same sharing station. Read more.
While the focus -- at least for council -- was on sustainable, pedestrian friendly transportation at last night's meeting, city staff seemed more determined to add to Greater Sudbury's existing road network by building, extending and widening thoroughfares. Read more.
Thunder Bay's mobility co-ordinator says municipalities all over Ontario are grappling with how to regulate where cyclists of different ages can ride. Adam Krupper said in Thunder Bay, city bylaws state any bike with wheels with a diameter of more than 43 cm must be ridden on the road and not on the sidewalk. Read more.
Local active transportation champions are hosting an Active Transportation Summit on May 29 to bring together stakeholders to build on existing work, compare notes, share best practises and learn from one another. Read more.
Picture a waterfront that combines the Ottawa River’s natural beauty with all the amenities a visitor could want: pathways, restaurants, lookouts and bathrooms. That’s what the National Capital Commission has in mind for a nine-kilometre stretch of green space between Britannia and LeBreton Flats; a concept presented as part of its Urbanism Lab series on May 5. Read more.
Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt is trying to put the brakes on Winnipeg's new bike-and-pedestrian strategy by warning protected bike lanes could harm downtown businesses. The fourth-term councillor has penned a letter to downtown business owners, warning the creation of 13 protected bike lanes over the next 20 years may lead to a loss of parking. Read more.
Residents along Berry Street say they don't understand why the City of Winnipeg would build bike paths only to damage them by subsequent work for another project. The two bike paths along Berry were completed at the end of 2010 as part of an active transportation strategy funded by the province, the federal government and the city. Read more.
Parking has emerged as the priority on a section of road that had been under consideration for bicycle lanes. A proposal to install painted bicycle lanes on Matchedash Street North, between Coldwater and North streets met with opposition from area residents. Read more.
Bike lanes that lead nowhere or abruptly end, dangerous merges into traffic and a daily battle with cars for a share of the road. These are the hindrances cyclists say they encounter daily as they navigate the streets of Winnipeg. After years of planning, the city has finally released a comprehensive 20-year, $330-million strategy into tackling these issues in Winnipeg and making the city more pedestrian and cycling friendly. Read more.
New research forthcoming in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health sheds light on the exact relationship between public transportation and weight loss. Led by Adam Martin of the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, the study was based on data from more than 4,000 adults via the British Household Panel Survey, taken between 2004 and 2007. At three different points during that time period, participants were asked how they commute to work, so individuals’ changes from driving to other methods (or vice-versa) would show up relatively clearly in their weights. Read more.
Ontarians like to bike. According to Share the Road surveys, Ontario has 600,000 daily cyclists; 3.8 million Ontarians cycle weekly or monthly; 32 per cent of the population currently cycle, and 67 per cent of the population say they would cycle more if they had safe infrastructure. As well, 68 per cent would support investments in cycling infrastructure, and 66 per cent believe putting people on bikes is good for all citizens, even those who don't bike. Read more.
The city of Tucson and Regional Transportation Authority have just completed a one-block stretch of what’s called a “separated bicycle lane” along the east side of Stone Avenue from about Toole Avenue to Alameda Street. The new lane is a two-way separated bicycle thoroughfare with a sidewalk on the east side and lines of parallel parking to the west. Read more.
On the Move in the Community – Solutions for Quebec will welcome specialists in
pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly planning and design as well as representatives
of organizations and institutions lobbying for human-scale cities and
neighbourhoods. This is an exceptional opportunity to bring together pioneers
and trailblazers, as well as those who are new to this fast-growing sector and
are looking for a nudge in the right direction. Read more.
Le touriste à vélo est un touriste de qualité pour les régions du Québec. C’est ce que démontre clairement une étude menée par la Chaire de tourisme de l’UQAM pour les ATR du Québec. Read more.
The plan will include restoring heritage buildings, building new ones and developing more green space and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. Read more.
The Colchester Adult Learning Association (CALA) is behind Making Tracks Cycling, a program that helps children and adults understand the elements involved in making cycling a safe, healthy and fun activity. Read more.
Skateboarders and their supporters rolled into Mount Pleasant Park on Sunday morning to express their opposition to the potential closure of the little facility. Read more.
Though the plan has not yet been approved by city council, the new initiative is intended to act as a blueprint for infrastructure planning and active transportation programs that could potentially make walking and cycling simpler. City officials said thousands of people showed their support through online and telephone surveys, public open houses, stakeholder meetings, workshops, and through the project's website. Read more.
“Sometimes a bike isn’t just a bike – sometimes it’s an indicator too. The presence of many bikes out and about can be a visual indicator that a community has been built at more of a human scale, and that the mobility of people, not just cars, is an important element of the community’s plans. Places where more people are riding their bikes are places where more children are getting to school actively and safely, where local businesses flourish, where neighbourhoods are friendly and vibrant, and where investment and tourism dollars tend to flow. Read more.
Jeremy Huet, Senior Engineer with the Town of Okotoks says the proposal fits with both what the community wants and the Town's overall vision. "Some of the feedback from the visioning workshops put high priority on active transportation, connectivity and connectivity to the downtown," Huet says. "I think this project aligns well with some of the visions themes and goals." Read more.
“As a result of this phased expansion the annual municipal contribution to support transit is projected to grow from $8.1 million in 2011 to $12.7 million in 2015,” according to transit documents. Council has endorsed the extra funding for transit as part of its goal to increase active transportation. Read more.
School Travel Planning programs have been running in the province since 2007. Last year, 24 schools were involved. More wanted in. More always wanted in, so they could get their hands on support to create walking school buses, connector routes from schools to local rail trails and access funds to build bike racks. What was a $105,000 annual investment by the Department of Health and Wellness is now cut to zero. Read more.
