Most Ontarians want more bicycle lanes, survey shows
(Toronto Star, Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew, May 27 2013)
Seventy per cent of Ontarians believe that cyclists need more bicycle lanes or paved shoulders, according to a survey slated to be released Monday.
The annual poll commissioned by Share the Road Cycling Coalition also found that a majority of Torontonians — 71 per cent — would like to see funding for active transportation included in Metrolinx’s $30 billion Big Move.
“It is critical that bicycling and walking are not forgotten in The Big Move, given the important role they play in the daily lives of citizens in Toronto and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area,” Eleanor McMahon, founder and chief executive officer of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, said in a news release.
“Ontarians want livable, safe communities and as a result, support for this kind of investment is clear.”
Over 600,000 Ontarians are cycling daily, including 182,000 in Toronto, according to the release.
The cost for the 4,500 kilometres of new walking and cycling infrastructure proposed in the Metrolinx Big Move is the same as building 18 kilometres of new road, Nancy Smith Lea, director of the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation noted.
“We have a very serious, yet solvable, transportation problem in the Toronto region,” she said in the release. “Walking and cycling are important transportation options in their own right and play a critical role in getting people to and from public transit.”
....The poll found that 5.1 per cent of Ontarians ride a bike daily or almost daily. That’s up from 4 per cent in 2012.
Nearly one-third, 31.2 per cent, say they ride weekly or monthly. That’s up from 28 per cent last year.
There are more details on the Coalition's fact sheet.
FWIW:
The Coalition pegged daily ridership at 5% in 2010, and found that 11% rode weekly and 14% monthly (ie. 25% rode weekly or monthly).
The daily ridership remained at 5% in 2011, with weekly riders climbing to 12% and monthly riders dropping to 11% (ie. 23% rode weekly or monthly).
In 2012, daily ridership dipped to 4% while weekly/monthly riders returned to a 25% share.
In 2011, STRCC found that among adult Ontarians, regular cycling (daily/weekly/monthly) was lowest in the north (21%) and southwest (25%) regions of the province and 416 area code (27%), and highest in eastern Ontario (30%) and Hamilton-Niagara (29%) regions and 905 area code (32%).