Cycling Tsunami
Within days of the recent election in Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty introduced a sales tax exemption for bicycle helmets and bikes selling for under $1,000. The tax breaks quickly got the thumbs up from the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada (BTAC), whose members are independent bike shops, and the manufacturers and distributors of bikes and accessories.
Tax breaks for new bikes are nice, but advocates and BTAC are looking for more. The real need is for investments in the infrastructure that will attract people to get out of their cars and onto their bikes. Without the trails, bike lanes, and other facilities, tax breaks alone won’t be enough to move the mainstream population onto their bicycles.
Jack Becker, a director with the BC Cycling Coalition calls it the “third wave” of cyclists that we need to attract. The current cycling population, he argues, includes experienced cyclists who will take to the streets no matter what conditions they face. Since the early 1990s, the appearance of bike lanes and trails have helped increase participation among a “second wave” of cyclists – people interested in cycling but less confident in traffic.
In Victoria, BC just over three per cent of all trips are by bike. Victoria has the highest numbers in Canada, but it’s only a fraction of that enjoyed in bigger and occasionally colder European cities (roughly 40 per cent in Amsterdam, 36 per cent in Copenhagen).
Becker says we need to take a more radical approach to designing facilities and programs. A dramatic shift in people’s transportation choices won’t happen on the limited networks of trails or by chipping away at road space with bike lanes alone.
He points to Montreal in particular with its street “cycle tracks” and European approaches to road designs. More facilities that physically separate bikes from traffic or give them priority at intersections will be needed to strengthen cyclists’ claims to the road.
Recent research on cyclist preferences, including an article published in momentum (Cycling in Cities, momentum#30), has found that this is what people are looking for. In Montreal, another survey sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op confirmed that people want more paths, and they are willing to pay for them.
It’s not always easy, however, to take away space from motorists for new bike facilities. Last year a Globe and Mail story exposed the “high cost” of bike lanes. Paint is cheap; talk isn’t. The “soft” costs of consultations, traffic studies and community process are pushing up the price of every project in Toronto. It’s difficult to imagine radical change in the design of our transportation environments when faced with the tyranny of the majority where motor addicts outnumber cyclists seven to one.
It can be done. In Victoria more than $11 million will be invested in a new trail alongside an active rail line. The project is scheduled for completion in time for the 2010 Olympics. For an ambitious project, this is a relatively short timeline. Nearly all of the money comes from federal gas taxes returned to local governments for green infrastructure projects.
In Vancouver, local access to a share of provincial gas taxes has institutionalized funding for cycling projects at the regional level. The British Columbia government is greenwashing its Gateway project (more roads for cars and trucks) by throwing in $50 million for bike facilities (mostly wider sidewalks on expensive new bridges or shoulder bike lanes on new roads).
By way of contrast, in Ottawa, funding for cycling facilities and programs has dropped to zero. A long history of support has left a legacy of trails and a culture supportive of cycling, but new energy is needed in local advocacy to get the city’s efforts back on track.
Becker’s “third wave” will still need more than infrastructure. Ontario advocates are lobbying for a one metre passing rule, paving of rural shoulders, and projects to copy La Route Verte in Quebec. A number of US states have already adopted three foot passing rules to give cyclists a level of comfort on existing roads. Oregon is taking the European approach to protecting vulnerable road users and doling out more severe penalties for drivers injuring cyclists and pedestrians.
Will this be enough and will we change our habits in time to slow the pace of climate change? Big picture commentators and the science community are not so sure. They are saying we have to act big, and act fast. The incremental change we are successfully introducing into our transportation environment, however, may not be sufficient. Looking back to Jack Becker’s “third wave” concept, we may have to find a way to trigger a tsunami.
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