Top-ranked city has hundreds of kilometres of bike lanes and bike paths
A new study has revealed that Victoria, Vancouver, and Montréal are the most bike-friendly cities in Canada.
The study, conducted by real estate brokerage Redfin, ranked Canadian cities on how easy it is to get around by bicycle using several factors – including bike lanes, road connectivity, and hilliness. Cities were also scored based on whether daily errands can be accomplished by bike, whether cycling is convenient for most trips, and whether they had existing bike infrastructure.
The study noted that top-ranked Victoria in British Columbia has hundreds of kilometres of bike lanes and bike paths – including the Galloping Goose Regional Trail – which bikers use both for commuting and recreation.
Meanwhile, the bike-path network of second-placed Vancouver, popular with commuters, spans more than 300 kilometres. Biking accounted for more than 7% of all trips taken in Vancouver in 2018, up from 4.4% of trips in 2013.
“Vancouver has gone through significant reconstruction to make it as bike-friendly as possible over the last decade,” said Brooks Findlay, a local Redfin agent. “The bridges have been retrofitted with bike lanes and it's almost impossible to find a street downtown that's not marked with bike routes. For many of my homebuying clients, living close to both transit and bike lanes is a priority. The number of people who commute by bike has gone up noticeably over the last several years, and tourists prefer to see the city by bike, especially on sunny days.”
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 are Longueuil, Qué., Brossard, Qué., Ottawa, Ont., Waterloo, Ont., Toronto, Ont., Winnipeg, Man., and Richmond, B.C.
