Cycling in Canada
Interest in early Velocipede bicycles exploded during the winter of 1868–69 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as evidenced by advertisements.
[1] The first person in North America to ride a Penny Farthing style bicycle was Albert Lane who in Montreal rode an imported 50 inch Coventry on July 1, 1874.
As Canada became more suburban after World War II, cars became the principal mode of transportation for many people, and cycling shifted to being solely for sport or recreation.
together with gentrification, this has created a more dense urban environment less like the mid-century North American norm and more like Old World cities where cycling commuting is more popular.
This has led to a new era of cycling advocacy and can create conflicts with motorists over road space prioritization, funding and planning decisions at the local municipality level.
[12] Victoria has a very mild climate year-round compared to the rest of Canada which may help explain why the proportion of cycling commuters is so much higher, coupled with a compact core, regional trails connecting suburbs to the downtown, a growing protected bicycle lane infrastructure, and a strong bicycle culture.
He was supported by media personality Don Cherry's rant against "the pinkos out there who ride bicycles" at Ford's inauguration.
[15] However, Toronto is not the only city in Canada to grapple with cyclist-motorist conflicts driven by unsafe or non-existent infrastructure for cycling.
Canadian cars and trucks are larger with more blind spots that prevent drivers from safely seeing cyclists and pedestrians.
There is also many on-street parking which can present more door zone hazards for cyclists and many Canadian cities have only begun to build more protected bike lanes in the last several years.
Protected bike lanes or cycle tracks have been adopted in strategic corridors in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Victoria and Ottawa with plans to add protected bike lanes in many other cities across the country wanting to increase rates of active transportation.
[16] In 2011, the province of Nova Scotia passed a law requiring all motor vehicles to give cyclist 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) of clearance to protect people riding on the shoulder.
[17] The narrow streets of Downtown Halifax were originally designed for horse, cart and bicycle and they thus require drivers to share the road with a mix of other users.
In Quebec older, disciplines like road racing and track cycling are popular, although they also have smaller following in English Canada).
Newer "extreme" disciplines like bicycle motocross, cross-country cycling, downhill mountain biking and freeride are relatively popular in areas with the appropriate facilities.
[21] In 2015, Calgary has launched a strategic protected bicycle infrastructure plan that has been lauded for its ambition by cycling advocacy organization People for Bikes.
[29] Many of Vancouver's protected bike lanes are separated from traffic by self-watering planters that feature hardy plants that can withstand the wet winters and dry summers.
[32] Mobi faced initial planning challenges with the province of British Columbia's mandatory helmet law that is required for all ages and the placement of docking stations away from existing bike rental locations that cater to tourists.
[35][12] This may be in part due to a mild year-round climate, a relatively flat and compact core and separate municipalities for the suburban areas resulting in perhaps less animosity towards dedicated infrastructure for cycling.
[47] Bicycle lockers are available at some park and ride bus stop locations and can be reserved through Capital Bike (formerly the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition).
[65]: 28–31 Construction began in 2021 on a key component of the 2020 Master Plan: the Downtown Cycling Grid, a planned system of protected cycling routes along existing downtown streets made possible due to the removal of street space previously dedicated to automobile traffic.
A secondary component of the plan was designation of residential streets, mostly in outer parts of downtown, as neighbourhood bikeways.
Ottawa closes over 50 kilometres (31 mi) of Colonel By Drive, Kichi Zibi Mikan, and the Rockcliffe Parkway to traffic every Sunday morning May to September, effectively turning the streets into wide recreational lanes.
[74] On October 13, 2022, then candidate for mayor Mark Sutcliffe wrote that bike lanes would not help residents with "groceries, taking your kids to school, getting to the community centre for hockey practice".
[76]: 172 Greater Sudbury received a Bicycle Friendly Community Award at the bronze level from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in 2018.
The markings alert all road users of the presence of bicycle traffic on the street, although they are not considered dedicated cycling facilities.
[85] In 2020, the city embarked on a multifaceted safety programme for both pedestrians and cyclists, which included the implementation of several mid-block pedestrian crossings, speed limit reduction on certain streets to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph), and some roads being temporarily closed to through traffic, as well as the temporary implementation of slow streets in some areas.
[86] Physically protected cycling lanes were implemented along several streets and regional roads in Waterloo around this time as part of a pilot project, which was made permanent in 2021.
These roadways had a relatively low number of cyclists, but were considered to have a high potential for growth in cycling traffic by local governments.
The Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal female professional racing event has been held in Montreal since 1998.
