Alberta cyclists must create a non-partisan professional lobby organization to work with government if they want more cycling infrastructure built across the province, according to Ontario MPP and Share the Road Cycling Coalition founder Eleanor McMahon.
Speaking to the Alberta Bicycle Commuters Conference, Saturday (Sept. 26) at the Coast Hotel, McMahon laid out a detailed blueprint which Ontario used to create 53 cycling-friendly communities. She became a cycling advocate after her husband, OPP officer Greg Stobbart, was struck and killed while riding his bike by a driver with a suspended licence.
Drawing on municipal partners and other stakeholders such as police and CAA, McMahon said cycling must discard some of its confrontational lobbying tactics and create well-informed, organized coalitions to further their requests.
“You need people who can bring skills to the table with quality advice and counsel,” McMahon said.
McMahon said Alberta is well positioned to increase its cycling communities, which will improve the health, environment and economy for those who buy in. Studies show 70 per cent of commuters would like to ride their bike to work, but feel infrastructure is lacking.
“There is a need for cycling to happen as a regular, ordinary part of people’s lives. Having it on the margin is no longer acceptable. That’s not the reality. More than 600,000 people ride bicycles daily in Ontario. As a consequence, we have an imperative as policy makers to make sure those people are safe and have places to ride. But in order for infrastructure to be built, communities need cycling champions and non-partisan groups to give new ideas to the province.
She said former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s talk of a so-called war on cars was divisive, and actually created more momentum behind the cycling movement.
“Most of the time, governments don’t create bandwagons. They jump on them,” McMahon said.
She praised Canmore’s cycling infrastructure and said the plan to use photo radar revenue to build bike infrastructure is one that could be copied all over the globe. The Legacy Trail is another example for Banff of a trail that could be marketed around the world.
“In places like Canmore with a robust tourism population, being able to market the province and cities with province-wide connected route systems is a bonus,” McMahon said. “We’re not becoming a car-less society, but giving people an option to ride their bicycle is good for their health, good for the environment and good for the economy. Studies over the past 25 years have embraced cycling.”
She cites Chicago as an example of a city that has embraced cycling, including it in the city’s economic development plan.
“Chicago has put cycling in their economic development strategy, because they are attracting top talent from around the world. Increasingly, fewer and fewer young people are owning and driving cars. They are car sharing and don’t want the $10,000 a year expense a car costs. Many of them are mired in student debt and see a car as a burden, which is a dramatic change from 30 years ago. They see the car as less of a prominent need and that’s OK,” McMahon said.
Edmonton-Centre MLA David Shepherd will take the recommendations back to Transportation Minister Brian Mason. Shepherd is a longtime cycling advocate, bicycle commuter and 24 Hours of Adrenalin participant, so he’s encouraged to see an appetite for more commuter cycling, which in turn will decrease greenhouse gas emissions, reduce traffic congestion and improve the health of Albertans.
“We are committed to working with our partners to improve the transit network,” Shepherd said. “Commuting by bike has massive benefits for physical and mental health.”
Alberta Transportation has often been criticized for ignoring cycling, sticking to a motorist-only policy, but Shepherd believes that could change.
“Largely, I’ve been hearing bikes haven’t been on the radar of Alberta Transportation. Talking to planners today, generally they’ve found when they’ve brought that up with the officials, it’s not something they’ve been addressing. The minister has asked me to report back to him on everything that’s been looked at here today. The interest is there. He’s certainly open to having the conversation and seeing what we might be able to build, so I’m optimistic we might start seeing this come more into the forefront,” Shepherd said.
He said there is a lot of momentum from the municipalities, which presents an opportunity for the province to find partners.
“The program Eleanor laid out is fantastic. It gives a great opportunity for government to act when citizens stand up and say what they support,” Shepherd said.
Local MLA Cam Westhead said this could result in more projects around the Bow Valley.
“Canmore and Banff are taking a lead on cycling infrastructure. They’ve had some success, such as on Bear Street in Banff. They’ve made some changes that were initially not looked favourably upon, but they are finding success. We can look at infrastructure and see what can be done,” Westhead said.
