Cycling in Canada - Pleasure and Commuting Cycling

Pleasure and Commuting Cycling

The bikeability or bicycle-friendliness of Canadians regions varies considerably. There are thousands of kilometres of bike paths in Canada's major cities. Rural bicycling is quite popular in less-remote using the many low-traffic rural roads and long distance trails available. Most of Canada's northern landmass completely lacks any bicycle infrastructure.

In general Canadian cars are larger and Canadian speed limits much higher than in Europe. Consequently many Canadians use a "pedestrian" style of riding (riding on sidewalk or the shoulder), rather than the vehicular style (behaving the same a car) favoured in Britain or mainland Europe. Although pedestrian cycling is technically illegal, as cycles are vehicles under the laws of all the provinces, is the most common method in small town and suburban Canada (where pedestrians on sidewalks are rare). Vehicular cycling is limited mostly to the centres of major cities. Canadian cycling advocates typically are in favour of segregated cycle facilities (bike paths and bike lanes) so that cyclists do not have to ride in mixed traffic with motor vehicles. Recognizing that Canadians typically do not use the vehicular style, the province of Nova Scotia passed law requiring all motor vehicles to give cyclist 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) of clearance to protect people riding on the shoulder. The narrow streets of Downtown Halifax (the provincial capital) are generally too narrow to allow riding on the shoulder, however.

In Toronto, the country's largest city, and the city with the longest average commutes in all of North America, cycle-communing has quickly gained popularity. In 2010, however, Toronto had the highest per capita rate of bike-car collisions of any Canadian city and bike activists have demanded more bike lanes to make cycling safer. This was derided as "the war on the car" by successful mayoral candidate Rob Ford in the 2010 election. He was supported by media personality Don Cherry's rant against "the pinkos out there who ride bicycles" at Ford's inauguration. In July 2011 Toronto City Council voted to remove three of the bike lanes added by the previous council. Toronto is not the only city to grapple with cyclist-motorist conflicts, however.