Cycling Trends and Policies in Canadian Cities

Bicycling accounted for an average of 1.2% of work trips in Canada in 2001, but with considerable variation by province and metropolitan area. In this study, we chose six Canadian cities for detailed analysis of their cycling trends and policies: Montreal and Quebec City in Quebec; Ottawa and Toronto in Ontario; and Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia. All of these cities have made impressive efforts to encourage more and safer cycling. Most of the cities report increases in cycling levels over the past two decades but appear to have reached a limit due to lack of funding for crucially needed cycling infrastructure (bike paths and lanes, parking, intersection modifications, etc.). In addition, the low-density, car-oriented suburban sprawl spreading around most Canadian cities has been increasing trip distances, thus making cycling decreasingly feasible outside the urban core. Finally, Canadian cities and provinces have not imposed any significant restrictions on car use or imposed increases in taxes, fees, and other charges for car use, such as most European cities have implemented to discourage driving and increase transit use, walking, and cycling. If Canadian cities really want to further increase cycling levels, they will have to further expand cycling infrastructure, curb low-density sprawl, and impose more restrictions and charges on car use.