Here Be Dragons: Cycling the Rural-Urban Mobility Interface

Jean Gelwicks, Brenda Guild, John Rowlandson, Island Pathways Broadening Cycling Markets

National Mobility Summit Tuesday 1 Nov 2011

Velovillage2012@gmail.com

http://www.velo-village2012.blogspot.com

In-a-Nutshell

• Salt Spring Island

• Island Pathways - its focus & work effort

• The 2010 Cycling Survey

• Next Steps

Salt Spring Island

• 175 km2; ~ 9,500 (54.3/km2)• 1 of more than 400 islands held in

provincial trust for the people of BC• Temperate Doug Fir forest • Access via 3 ferry terminals• Rural roads, hills, blind corners

Island Pathways

Island Pathways

Knowledge Transfer

Bike Rodeos

Helmets for Life

Knowledge Translation

Bicycle Acceptance & Adoption

Promoting Cycling Culture Community Engagement

AdvocacyResearch

Bicycle Working Group

http://www.ssi-bicycleworkinggroup.blogspot.com/

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Why bother?

• Ferry costs• Carbon footprint• Traffic congestion• Fossil fuel dependency• Population health & fitness• Cycle Tourism opportunities

Translate the success of Québec’s La Route Verte to the Salish Sea Regional Trail Network (SSRTN)

Island Pathways Cycling Survey

• Supported by a partnerships with the Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission

• 1 Aug to 30 Sept 2010• Sample = 432 (on & off-island cohorts)

Island Cyclists Visiting Cyclists

Key Findings

• Island Cyclists– 12.6% ranked bicycles

as their most frequent mode of transport

– 35% ride all seasons and in all weather conditions (49% all seasons/fair weather)

– 53% ride between 1-4 days/wk

– 14% ride 5 or more days per week

– 6.4% ride electric bikes

– 76% of respondents said they would ride more if they felt “safer on the road”

– 67% recommended enhanced shoulders or bike lanes to improve cycling safety

Key Findings

• Visiting Cyclists– 56% arrive from Vancouver or Victoria; 12% (VI);

11% (USA)– 65% said they cycled in all seasons & all weather– 49% said they rode 5 or more days/week– 61% said they had cycled on SSI 4 or more

times in the past– 31% said they heard about SSI by word of mouth– 60% said that bike lanes or bike paths would

improve the cycling experience on Salt Spring Island

Key Findings (3)

• Associations – Women less likely to ride all seasons/all

weather (35% vs 64%)– Women were more likely to be very

dissatisfied with cycling safety (55% vs 45%)

– Women were more likely to be very dissatisfied with cycling security (61% vs 40%)

– Men were more likely to be unsatisfied with BC Ferries signage (59% vs. 41%)

– On average women say they spend about $75.00 more than men ($192.88 vs. $118.56)

Alignment

• What the brain trust says:– Factors contributing to Pedestrian &

Bicycle Crashes on Rural Highways - (3,000 bike crashes in 5 states). Rural two-lane roads least safe for cyclists (US FHA, 2010)

– Amoros et al: French trauma registry (n=13,684; 1996-2008) - country cyclists most likely to be severely injured (BMC Public Health, Aug 2011)

– “Women are an indicator species for the vitality of cycling as an activity” (Dill, 2011)

Primary Takeaways

• Cycling safety and security are key barriers to resident and visiting cyclists

• Improvements to cycling infrastructure will stimulate growth in the volume of local & itinerant cyclists

Next Steps (1)

• Keep Learning– 2011 follow-up with young people

Next Steps (2)

• Advocate for cycling infrastructure– Accelerate partnerships with Island

transportation management planning principals

• Mobilize MOTI/Islands Trust LOA• Increase public awareness of bike lane

development• Identify bike lane hotspots &

opportunities

Next Steps (3)

• Positive Leverage– Invite the world to cycle on Salt Spring

Island– Demonstrate the rural cycling value

proposition to decision-makers– Mobilize the community to make Salt

Spring the most welcoming place for cyclists on the planet, if only for 3 days

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are needed to see this picture.

Timing

June 2012

15 24 2926

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Cyclo-tour Value Proposition

Focus on Rural Mobility

3 days of Bicycle Heaven-on-Earth!

1000 - 1500 Cyclists On SSI