State of cycling report points to big gains for the two-wheel crowd

There are more bike commuters than ever in Metro Vancouver and women now represent over a third of those who choose to pedal to work.

Those are some of the findings ina report published by Vancouver Bicycle Coalition HUB and TransLink that aims to giveasnapshot of the state of cycling and bicycle route infrastructure in the region.

Lead researcher Gavin Davidson said cycling is the fastest-growing mode of transportation in Metro Vancouver.

"In terms of cycling rates, we've seen a 64 per cent increase in the rates of cycling between 2006 and 2016," he said.

Davidson said the fact that more women are cycling indicates the local cycling infrastructure is increasingly appealing to a broader range of people.

Other findings:

• 2.3 per cent of all commuters cycle, up from 1.7 per cent in 2006.
• Metro Vancouver has 4,595 kilometres of bikeways.
• The number of collisions per million bike trips in 2017 was 23, compared to 21 in 2008.

The report points out that whileVancouver is doing a good job providing linked bike routes that are deemed "comfortable for most," other municipalities have large gaps.

"Elsewhere in the region the network of routes that are comfortable for most tend to be more fragmented making it more difficult for more people to travel from their origin to their destination," said Davidson.

The report says supporting more cycling makes sense considering the benefits ofcleaner air, energy efficiency, reducing congestion on roadways and transit,and low-cost infrastructure.