Let’s look at all factors when measuring cycling in the city
Re: More citizens using transit, bikes, Jan. 25. The crowing over the increase in Ottawa’s cycling modal share from 1.4 per cent in 2005 to 1.8 per cent in 2011 ignores history — and specifically the previous instance of that same Origin-Destination Survey in 1995.
In the 1995 survey — which was conducted during one of the coldest autumns in recent history — the cycling modal share was 1.7 per cent. So, over 16 years, the survey has actually detected an increase in cycling use of less than six per cent — not 40 per cent.
And to attribute that increase to the Laurier segregated bike lanes, which had been open barely two months when the 2011 survey began, is doubtful at best.
What this really shows is that the city’s Origin-Destination Survey, which is run over several months in the fall when weather can vary substantially from year to year and which only measures how a person travels on one single day, is a questionable method of measuring cycling use.
And I suspect that the reasons for any increase in people cycling relate to more than just facilities. Increased levels of unemployment and lower household incomes will encourage it; so would resentment against OC Transpo from the strike earlier in 2011. Some areas, and perhaps Ottawa too, are also seeing younger adults delaying obtaining drivers’ licenses.
If we want to see more cyclists beyond the frankly pitiful numbers that these surveys show, we need to avoid simplistic “facilities! facilities!” analyses.
Instead, look at all factors that affect how much people ride their bikes, including bike theft, children’s transportation to daycare and school, workplace change facilities, traffic skills training, and much more.
ALAYNE MCGREGOR,
Ottawa