1. More Torontonians are cycling to work and ditching their cars.
32.6% More people cycled to work in Toronto between 2001 and 2006.
While the raw numbers may seem small compared to other modes of transportation – some 20,000 people cycle to work in the city, just 1.7 per cent of the total transportation mix – the increase in two-wheel commuters has been accompanied by a 5 per cent decrease in those driving to work.
The glitch in the statistics: the rise in cycling and dip in driving are likely much higher, since the latest available numbers (2006) are almost a decade old.
2. Women over 45 and men over 55 are the fastest-growing demographics among those biking to work.
137% Increase in the number of women over 45 cycling to work.
147% Increase in men over 55 opting for bikes over other modes of transportation.
Cycling advocates pinpoint the growth of bike infrastructure as the main reason for the seismic shift. They’ve been saying for years that if the city builds it, they will come. And they have.
3. More than half of Torontonians cycle – and fewer are riding solely for recreational purposes.
29% Cyclists who can be classified as “utilitarian,” meaning they ride to work or school and use a bike for the majority of their errands or visits.
According to the city’s 2009 cycling study conducted by Ipsos Reid, that’s a 9 per cent increase since 1999. The kicker: the largest increases in utilitarian cycling occurred outside the downtown core: by 11 per cent in Etobicoke, 14 per cent in North York and 8 per cent in Scarborough.
4. Respect for cyclists is on the rise – even among motorists. Egad.
68% Utilitarian cyclists who say motorists’ respect for other road users is the same or better than it was 10 years ago, according to Ipsos’s research.
That number also represents the percentage of Torontonians who feel cyclists are more respectful of other road users than they were 10 years ago.
Mutual respect on the roadways? Yes. Even on sidewalks, between pedestrians and cyclists, according to Ipsos’s survey, which reveals significant declines in levels of concern about careless cyclists, riding on sidewalks and safety among cyclists in general.
5. Miles of untapped potential remain.
40% Recreational cyclists who would bike to work or school if conditions were safer.
For all the positive momentum in cycling, there’s still work to do. And lack of bike lanes in large swaths of the city, particularly the inner suburbs, is a major obstacle. The cycling union, Cycle Toronto, is pushing for a minimum grid, while the city has developed a new 10-year bike plan to replace the one passed in 2001, whose goals, despite some gains, were proving too ambitious for the powers that be at City Hall. The more modest plan is infinitely more manageable. Now it’s time to get on with it.
michelled@nowtoronto.com | @michdas
