Vélo Canada Bikes

Green Communities Canada and our Ontario members have written Prabmeet Sarkaria expressing our deep concern about Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024. Together, we represent a group of community-based non-profits that work with schools & provide environmental programming in communities in 52 municipalities and 3 First Nations across Ontario. This bill would negatively affect the future of mobility in the Province of Ontario. Slowing or reversing the installation of bike lanes will have an adverse impact on children’s health, and the environment, while also increasing congestion. Read more:

Achieving healthier, less congested communities in Canada will require our leaders to come together and give serious consideration to the power of bikes. 💬 Bike Day on the Hill 2024 attracted leaders from across the country and the political spectrum in an impactful conversation about everyday cycling in Canada. Pictured here: MP Scott Aitchison, Parry Sound—Muskoka (Conservative) MP Karen Vecchio, Elgin-Middlesex-London, (Conservative) MP Greg McLean, Calgary Centre (Conservative) MP Julie Dabrusin, Toronto-Danforth (Liberal) MP Pam Damoff, Oakville North-Burlington (Liberal) MP Jean Yip, Scarborough—Agincourt (Liberal) MP Sonia Sidhu, Brampton South (Liberal) MP Adam van Koeverden, Milton (Liberal) MP Sébastien Lemire, ASC, Député d’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (Bloc Québécois) MP Gord Johns, Courtenay-Alberni, (NDP) MP Taylor Bachrach, Skeena-Bulkley Valley (NDP) MP Mike Morrice, Kitchener Centre (Green) Senator Marty Deacon, Ontario (Independent Senators Group) Senator Mary Coyle, Nova Scotia (Independent Senators Group) Senator Bev Busson, British Columbia (Independent Senators Group) Senator Pat Duncan, Yukon (Independent Senators Group) Senator Jane MacAdam FCPA, CA, Prince Edward Island (Independent Senators Group) MPP Joel Harden, Ottawa Centre (Ontario NDP) Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, Ottawa Bay Ward Councillor Alex Norris, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Montreal

E-bikes, cargo bikes and accessible bikes hold the power and potential to help Canadians to get on bikes earlier in life and continue cycling well into their later years. Unlocking that potential will require clear regulations, access to equipment and appropriate infrastructure. ⚡️ At Bike Day on the Hill we reached out to some partners and the public to ask them to show off their amazing e-bikes, cargo bikes, accessible bikes and other unique bicycles to our federal leaders and fellow event attendees. Thank you to Let's Go Cargo Bike Rentals, Cycling Without Age Canada, Escape Bicycle Tours & Rentals, Full Cycle, Trek Bicycle, CAA Club Group and others who came out to exhibit your bikes.

WATCH: Seriously, if you’re following ANY bike-lane debate, you HAVE TO WATCH this news story. You actually can’t make this up. Ontario Premier Doug Ford claims without evidence that bike-lanes are bad for small business, and THE ACTUAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION obliterates him with data. https://lnkd.in/gmKDvyXv

Safe cycling infrastructure is a gender issue! 🚴♀️⁠ ⁠ Numerous studies on the gender cycling gap have cited ❗️safety❗️ as the number one reason women do not cycle or do not cycle as frequently as men.⁠ ⁠ Research from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs found that women have greater safety concerns because they are actually at greater risk. A field experiment found that drivers were significantly more likely to pass a woman cycling within 3 feet than a man cycling. Of the 33 recorded encroachments that occurred, 24 of them (73%) were on a woman riding, indicating that she was nearly 4 times more likely to be encroached upon than a man cycling. 🚘️🤏⁠ ⁠ Research by the Near Miss Project found that women cyclists face disproportionate road violence, with women in the study being almost twice as likely to experience ‘near miss’ incidents. 🚙🚨⁠ ⁠ Many drivers believe that they own the road, channeling the idea that cyclists have no claim to their road space, let alone women riding bikes. This sense of entitlement contributes to greater risks for cyclists and keeps many others off the saddle entirely. ❌️⁠ ⁠ To support women, girls, gender-diverse people, and everyone else who wants to ride safely, we need a complete network of all ages and abilities cycling infrastructure in cities and towns (and in between!) across Canada. We need many more bike lanes - not less. 🚲️💚⁠ ⁠ Read more in our article "Pedalling Against the Patriarchy": https://lnkd.in/gjA-aWxV ⁠ #Cycling #Gender

🐌 To remind our federal leaders of the simple fun of everyday cycling, Bike Day on the Hill featured Canada's very first Parliamentary Slow Bike Challenge. Each leader's balance was put to the test as they competed to be the last cyclist to cross the finish line without touching the ground. 🏁 The competitors included Senator Mary Coyle, Senator Marty (Martha) Deacon, MP Julie Dabrusin, MP Sébastien Lemire, ASC, MP Jean Yip, High Commissioner Mark A Pace of the High Commission of the Republic of Malta in Canada, Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen of the Embassy of Denmark in Canada, Councillor Theresa Kavanagh of the City of Ottawa and winner MP Adam van Koeverden. Live commentary was provided by Olympian Sue Holloway.

Ontario's proposed Bill 212 won't reduce gridlock, and won't save you time. I recently put together a newsletter looking at what's in the bill and what we can do about it. You can read the full post online here: https://lnkd.in/gATJNjjH A huge thank you to my colleague Nancy Smith Lea for the research support on this. We've also summarized a lot of the studies referenced in the post in our "Active Transportation Benefits Research Tracker" (linked in post).

The cycling industry plays an important role in our national movement – a role that must advance if we are to achieve our shared vision of a Canada where cycling is safe and accessible, for all people and all journeys. 🏆 At Bike Day on the Hill 2024 we presented our Industry Award to Taylor Cook and Robert Burns for Trek Bicycle. Despite a tumultuous time for the cycling industry, Trek has been an exemplary partner in our work to build a bicycle-friendly Canada. The award was previously won by David Bowman for Outdoor Gear Canada - OGC.

In addition to the members of the organizing committee, Bike Day on the Hill 2024 was supported by a team of flexible event volunteers. 🤗 Thank you to Safiya Benoit, Johnathan Pelkey, Karl Saidla and Vélo Canada Bikes board member Zvi Leve, MSc!