What city could be called the bike capital of Canada? The city of Victoria in the province of British Columbia is definitely a contender. Victoria has a population of about 100,000. Approximately 13% of trips are by bike, which is quite a bit higher than the 1-3% in a typical North American city. Biking in Victoria has broken into the mainstream in a way that hasn’t occurred in many other North American cities.
Victoria went from painted lanes that avoided downtown to a high-quality network throughout the city. Interestingly, as recently as ten years ago, much of this network didn’t exist. Victoria didn’t have any on-street protected infrastructure (e.g., curbs on either side of the bike lanes) or, for that matter, any bike lanes downtown. The election of Lisa Helps as mayor of Victoria in 2014 was a turning point. She had a vision to make Victoria “the best small cycling city in the world.” With feedback from the community, Helps and other leaders’ vision became a plan, which was appropriately named ‘Biketoria.’ The intent was to ensure that everyone, regardless of age or ability, could navigate the city by bike with ease. They knew that people would use the bike lanes if they were physically separate from car lanes, as cycling is safer with those protections in place. So they built protected bike lanes, starting with a minimum grid in the downtown area and expanding outward from there. This network is still being built to this day. Part of the infrastructure changes included traffic-calming measures. One such measure reduced vehicular traffic from 6,000 vehicles a day to 1,500. Reducing vehicle traffic makes cycling much more attractive to potential cyclists.
Besides protected bike lanes, the new network included several other features that contributed to a transformation of bike culture.
Visibility. The cycling lanes were very often built on major roads. This was done not only for convenience but also for political reasons, as it ensured that everyone could see the cyclists. Making cyclists visible instead of having them tucked away on side streets helped further their acceptance on the roads.
Secure parking downtown. A free bike valet was built in the downtown area. A bike valet is like a coat check, where people can drop off their bikes in a secure area and pick them up later. The Victoria police department reported that bike thefts were down by 18%, which was partially attributed to the bike valet. There are now at least 1,000 bike-specific parking spots in the downtown area.
Car-free living. The city has invested in car-free townhouse projects. In these spaces, instead of a parking garage for cars, there is one for bikes, with plenty of space left over for community-oriented living.
Supportive programs. The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) now has a Bike Assist Program, where, in the event of your bike breaking down on the side of the road, they will pick it up (and you) and take it to a bike shop for you. This kind of roadside assistance for people with bikes is meeting the new reality of Victoria's growing bike culture and the surrounding areas. The city also has a supportive employee bike-to-work program called Go By Bike Week that has been running for 31 years.
What is the behavioral impact of these changes? Cycling trips accounted for 4% of all trips in 2011 and increased to 13% by 2022. While that percentage is impressive, the city is not done yet. Their goal is to get to 25% mode share by 2038. In other words, by 2038, 25% of all trips in the city will be made by bike.
Overall, the city of Victoria is transforming from a car culture to a bike culture in unique ways. To learn more about this transformation, watch a YouTube video here. You can also read more about Victoria’s infrastructure changes here.
Victoria went from painted lanes that avoided downtown to a high-quality network throughout the city. Interestingly, as recently as ten years ago, much of this network didn’t exist. Victoria didn’t have any on-street protected infrastructure (e.g., curbs on either side of the bike lanes) or, for that matter, any bike lanes downtown. The election of Lisa Helps as mayor of Victoria in 2014 was a turning point. She had a vision to make Victoria “the best small cycling city in the world.” With feedback from the community, Helps and other leaders’ vision became a plan, which was appropriately named ‘Biketoria.’ The intent was to ensure that everyone, regardless of age or ability, could navigate the city by bike with ease. They knew that people would use the bike lanes if they were physically separate from car lanes, as cycling is safer with those protections in place. So they built protected bike lanes, starting with a minimum grid in the downtown area and expanding outward from there. This network is still being built to this day. Part of the infrastructure changes included traffic-calming measures. One such measure reduced vehicular traffic from 6,000 vehicles a day to 1,500. Reducing vehicle traffic makes cycling much more attractive to potential cyclists.
Besides protected bike lanes, the new network included several other features that contributed to a transformation of bike culture.
Visibility. The cycling lanes were very often built on major roads. This was done not only for convenience but also for political reasons, as it ensured that everyone could see the cyclists. Making cyclists visible instead of having them tucked away on side streets helped further their acceptance on the roads.
Secure parking downtown. A free bike valet was built in the downtown area. A bike valet is like a coat check, where people can drop off their bikes in a secure area and pick them up later. The Victoria police department reported that bike thefts were down by 18%, which was partially attributed to the bike valet. There are now at least 1,000 bike-specific parking spots in the downtown area.
Car-free living. The city has invested in car-free townhouse projects. In these spaces, instead of a parking garage for cars, there is one for bikes, with plenty of space left over for community-oriented living.
Supportive programs. The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) now has a Bike Assist Program, where, in the event of your bike breaking down on the side of the road, they will pick it up (and you) and take it to a bike shop for you. This kind of roadside assistance for people with bikes is meeting the new reality of Victoria's growing bike culture and the surrounding areas. The city also has a supportive employee bike-to-work program called Go By Bike Week that has been running for 31 years.
What is the behavioral impact of these changes? Cycling trips accounted for 4% of all trips in 2011 and increased to 13% by 2022. While that percentage is impressive, the city is not done yet. Their goal is to get to 25% mode share by 2038. In other words, by 2038, 25% of all trips in the city will be made by bike.
Overall, the city of Victoria is transforming from a car culture to a bike culture in unique ways. To learn more about this transformation, watch a YouTube video here. You can also read more about Victoria’s infrastructure changes here.
