Another thing I found interesting from Victoria is that, not matter how good a city's natural assets -- flat topography, dense city, favourable weather -- you still need to build bike infrastructure if you want to see people using bikes to get around.
I live in Victoria and the insane level of Bike Theft here, and zero being done about it, makes using the bike for practical use basically impossible. Great to go for a ride for exercise, but can’t leave your bike locked up here at all. Basically if you live here and cycle, you have had multiple bikes stolen. I now only use the bike for exercise and am forced to use the car for real life.
@@mdbourne In Seattle there’s a college neighborhood called “U-District”. My friend is currently staying there and says he finds biking down there incredibly convenient to get to UW, Stores, and Restaurants but he has had 3 incidences of his bike getting stolen from regular street bike racks. Once this happens he’s basically out of luck. He’s reported it to the police and all but it’s rare to get your bike back afterwards. The police recommend him to ditch the chain and get a U-Lock so that’s now what he has but putting myself in his shoes I think I would absolutely be devastated after experiencing so many bike thefts. Given the price of my bike it would really financially ruin me as a broke student
@@jarjarbinks6018 it is so frustrating. I know many who used to cycle regularly, but once your bike gets stolen 3-4x times you give up. And even if you use multiple locks, either they still steal it, or they then vandalize it and kick the spokes out. Either way, your walking home. The last time my bike was stolen i had it registered in the 529 app, and reported to the local police. The officer directly told me their was 0% chance i would get my bike back, cause no one was even looking. The concept of biking as transportation is pointless if you cant be confident it will be there for the return trip.
@@mdbourne I've lived in Victoria a few times, most recently in 2019 and never had any issues with my bike, even leaving it locked up on Wharf st over a weekend. Maybe my bikes are not worth enough to steal or the fact I use Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit U-locks helped keep my bikes secure?
Victoria resident here: Ed is absolutely correct about the frustrations we have with the lack of coordination between municipalities. You can have a wonderful, uninterrupted protected lane network for 75% of your ride and then you are abruptly dumped into car traffic (sometimes without even a painted bike gutter). I also would like to point out that there's quite a bit of improvement needed to bicycle right-of-way here - especially at the new bike lane intersections. The timing of the lights is stuck in limbo and quite often cyclists jump the lights after a frustratingly long wait for their crossing signal. The Dutch would be appalled :) We're still stuck in a mindset where we *must* cater to automobile users first and then think about making provisions for other modes of transport - City Hall needs to prioritize the comfort, safety, and ease of flow for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users when making these infrastructure projects. Thanks for coming to town! ❤️
Thanks for the context. I did experience a few moments in which the infrastructure just kind of disappeared on me, but it some ways it made me feel like home 😉
The nice thing is that light timing is something that can be easily adjusted if there's the will. It doesn't soon like there is yet, but at least that's one less hurdle to overcome.
@@jasonarthurs3885 but specifically on intersections like Bay & Vancouver (with the button activated crossing).. whenever I'm there it's a long wait and at least 1 or 2 people jumping the light. I agree there's some head scratchers in terms of light timing throughout downtown, but these are dangerous oversights. Cyclists and pedestrians should have priority at these crossings.
@@aidanknight Yes, prioritizing cyclists and pedestrians at such intersections would improve safety for all road users. Don't get me started on the horribly improved intersection at Happy Valley & Sooke Roads.
A month and a half ago I moved to Traverse City, Michigan which is pretty bike friendly with a pretty extensive biking network. I would have never imagined how much I actually enjoy it. I feel like a kid again riding my Specialized Turbo Vado everywhere. Amazing how many errands I can do by bicycle. It’s turned into a challenge now to do as much by bicycle as possible.
The problem with using a good bike for regular transportation is theft. Vancouver has the highest rate of bicycle theft per capita in Canada (Calgary is second). I couldn't find any data for Victoria, BC but it's close enough to Vancouver that I wouldn't use a good bike there either (plus it rains a lot in Victoria).
@@MrJx4000 True, but there's quite a few measures a person can go through to make their bicycle less likely to be stolen. 18mm U-Locks, bike registration display stickers (like Project 529), choosing good locations to lock up your bike, and even GPS can all help. Most bikes I see out on the street use weak locks, don't lock both wheels, etc; those are much more likely targets because they're so much easier to steal.
Resident here. Victoria has decent infrastructure, but as a kind of catch-22 the mostly complete network makes you notice the gaps in the network even more. Also the biggest problem for cycling in Victoria now is probably bike theft, I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned. Even a good lock and a publicly located parking place is not enough to deter thieves, the city is desperately in need of more indoor secured parking and honestly some enforcement against thieves to get the problem back to manageable levels in the public's perception
That's a great point: every day on 529 Garage I get an alert that someone's bike was stolen from their underground apartment bike lockup area or from their yard. Capital Bike and another company is working on launching the Bike Valet for downtown secured lockup which is a good first step.
Sadly, I don't think this is unique to Victoria. Pretty much every city in the world has a bike-theft problem. I've covered this issue a bit in the past, and I have more in the works so stay tuned!
@@Shifter_Cycling I would be really interested in seeing a video looking at the use of bikes by the homeless. I mention it because I'm assuming that at least some of the theft is related to chronic issues of poverty and addiction. But I also feel that bikes for the homeless, as for many of us, is also a quality of life issue. When there are so many barriers to private and public transportation (expense, accessibility, practicality) bikes do provide a private, personal and practical form of transportation for those of minimal means. I strongly feel we need a "free bike" program for those in need to reduce incentives for theft and to provide some quality of life.
Considering that there's a lot of old rich folk who live in that area they do not want the increased traffic. They have a Marina to park their boats, 5 star Hotel, and a private renowned golf course with a stunning waterfront & mountain range view, The last thing they want is accessibility for the rest of the population there. Just stating facts as a former resident.
Oak Bay is actively harmful to Greater Victoria on so many levels. In a region with a fast growing population and a housing crisis (3rd lowest vaccany rate in Canada, worse than Metro Vancouver iirc), the muncipality 3km from downtown, home to half of UVic's campus, managed to classism its way into population decline. Also, despite having some of the most expensive properties in Canada, they can't afford to maintain their aging infrastructure. Like aaahhh
I've never been to Victoria, BC so it was very interesting to see some of this city. One thing I'd like to add as an aside to your video is how it is just so great to explore a city by bicycle and it looks like that's what you were doing. The bicycle is the best way to get around most cities and it is such a great way to really see and enjoy a city.
Victoria is a very touristy city, and it’s been great to see so many visitors renting bikes to explore, even if they don’t quite understand the bike laws all the time.
Resident Victorian here; both of my commutes have me using the Galloping Goose. One short 20-minute ride to downtown, the other, 80-minute ride to outlying community of Sooke some 40 kms away. I agree with other commenters here that rails to trails isn't a perfect transition, but for my type of cycle commuting it's suitable. I just wish that ALL trail users would abide by the posted guidelines.
A few things I've appreciated about Victoria as a newly-returned resident: 1. The downtown protected bike lanes are fantastic and well-used; I'm glad the city has stayed the course on bike infrastructure despite the steady outcry typical of any sort of development in Victoria 2. Many municipalities (e.g. Victoria and Saanich) have ambitious Active Transportation plans, so I have faith that this progress will continue. Shelbourne street is a nightmare right now with 4 narrow lanes of road and sidewalks immediately adjacent to that road, but I looked it up and there's a redevelopment project (with bike lanes) already in progress. Nice. 3. Bishop's Family Cycles downtown is fantastic. I just recently bought a cargo ebike, and if I had done so in Ottawa, I would have found an ebike shop that carries maybe 2 cargo ebikes as an afterthought. In Victoria, I was able to go to Bishop's and test ride a ton of them, settling on one I never would have considered when I was just looking at things on paper.
I've lived in Victoria for more than a decade now and Shelbourne Street has been an active construction zone since day one; it still is under construction.
Very cool. I love seeing what's being done in other communities and lament the lack of biking infrastructure here in most of the U.S. It will take something like this current gas crisis to perhaps wake some people up!
lol I love how much shade he was throwing to Oak Bay. Although Im not a fan of bi-directional lanes, the downtown lanes are much better than none. The Galloping Goose, Lochside and E&N Trail are fantastic cycling highways, but they only really work as leisure or A to B cycling and arent really suited to most people doing little trips. (Besides Oak Bay) the other municipalities around Victoria dont have protected bike lanes, but every road has a bike gutter which makes it pretty nice to get around by bike.
It's striking what a strong negative correlation there is between the wealth of a neighbourhood and its bike infrastructure. If you look at the map (search "CRD Bike Map"), I'd list the wealthy areas as being James Bay, Fairfield, Oak Bay, Cadboro Bay, Gordon Head, and Cordova Bay, and all of them are bike infrastructure dead zones; the only non-wealthy dead zones in the central CRD are West Esquimalt and Royal Oak. Rich people really hate bikes mildly inconveniencing them.
Not even enough shade being thrown at Oak Bay, that "community" is appalling. The whole municipality is almost explicitly based around leeching off of the success and hard work of nearby municipalities like Saanich and Victoria without contributing to that work. They are not really a community, they actively work against their greater community every chance they get.
@@rileynicholson2322 Hey now, why should a municipality 3km from the downtown core of a provincial capital have a gas station, or a large grocery store, or non-boutique commercial, or any significant non single-family zoning, or any industrial zoning at all, or bike/transit infrastructure? That's for poor people to build elsewhere and for me to drive to! /s
Thanks for visiting and filming our little city! The expansion of active transportation in Victoria is one of the most exciting things to happen in this town since I moved here in 2000. Lots work still to do, between getting more residents on board, creating better connections between communities, and addressing rampant bike theft. Still, it's really a pleasure and privilege to cycle safely around such a beautiful place everyday.
I absolutely love cycling in Victoria. I would really love it if Tom could come to Abbotsford, BC and do a profile of what a growing formerly urban, currently suburban stroadscape could look like. We're in the Vancouver region and have such great examples of what great infrastructure could look like, but our local leaders have almost zero interest in providing safe streets for bikes / pedestrians. With municipal elections this year, having a video like this could possibly help frame a bit of the conversation
The city actually plans on improving its infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, but from what I read they'll need to up their annual budget for those things (20-30% increase) to reach the stated goals (91%% of trips are done by car right now, they want to lower it to 75% before the city hits 200k population). It's called the OCP / master transportation and transit master plan, there's like a 120 page PDF with graphics on what they plan on doing. It's cool, check it out.
When I was in school I would bike from Huntingdon (at the sumas border) up in to town to see people. It was hilariously not supported, but the industrial road Riverside at least had low traffic. One time a semi's wheel launched a rock off the road that knocked me off my bike though - freak accident really, but I'll never forget.
Oxford (UK) is also pretty good as a cycling city, but as well could do better. There is now new investment, and it is flat, but there are large bits of missing infrastructure. Leading to pinch points like The Plain near St Clements, and it is an accident blackspot. The LTNs are meeting large opposition when first introduced, but after 18 months people are starting to become won over.
It's a shame so many bike paths were put in as an afterthought - paths alternating up and down between pavement and road, and going around streetlights. Sometimes it's safer to just stay on the road. Also a distinct lack of trees for shade, especially along the Eastern By-Pass.
Would be nice when the members of city councils would be obliged to use public transport and bikes a couple of weeks each year to get around theirr own town. Maybe also include the people working in the transport and planning departments. I wonder how that would influence the decision making progress. 🤗
@@Shifter_Cycling well Oxford does have almost 1000 year old colleagues sitting in some choice locations and a river getting in the way. If you want to travel within the ring road bike is almost always quickest as its a medieval layout designed to resist invasion with lots of narrow streets. Its just that you always have to plan your route carefully to avoid aggressive roads/car congestion or the few hills. The other problem is it relies of shared use cycleways too much, ride along the river on a warm evening and its too busy to get anywhere.
That's right. Richardson is a COLLECTOR STREET. In other words, it is a CRITICAL ROUTE for inter-municipal travel. With it closed, traffic has dramatically increased on the already heavily congested ARTERIAL routes. Closing this street to vehicles is EXTREMELY short-sighted.
I think in classic suburban style hyper residential streets (the narrower ones that have like no markings and such) designated bike lanes shouldn’t be needed because if a bike lane is needed that means the traffic calming has failed in some capacity since vehicles should be driving so slow that sharrows intuitively make sense. The arterials or regular style roads designed for traffic flow reasons however that these residential streets connect up to almost always should have designated bike paths because cars will be traveling fast enough that it would be unreasonable and dangerous for a bike to attempt to ride in traffic with them. Less conflict, better for bike commuting
I was quite impressed with the traffic-calmed streets I saw in Victoria. That shot at the end of the video is a great example -- there was a mini protected public space with a bench and flowers right in the middle of a street. It was great.
@@Shifter_Cycling I completely agree. It looks like it makes good use of what would have otherwise been dead open space. It looks like something I would love in my own neighborhood
I've biked to and from Victoria as I'm sure you likely know so it's absolutely doable. You just have to have nerves of steel while along the side of the highway.
Great content! I see you have a folding bike that you use in the video. Is that your own folding bike and have you ridden one before? I live in Toronto where our cycling network is okay in downtown, but is kinda left out outside of downtown. I recently bought a folding bike from the brand "decathlon" to commute to and from school. Will be my first time commuting to school by bike!
Great video about bicycling in one of the nicest cities in N. America. I rode my bicycle from Vancouver to the coast, island hopped the gulf islands, then along the Southern tip of Vancouver island into Victoria 30 years ago, one of the highlights of my life. Tom, why the folding bicycle and which one?
I was in Victoria about 5 years ago and didn't really notice much bike infrastructure in downtown..... The trails don't matter if the last few blocks are death traps.
Greetings from New Orleans. I noticed that I didn't hear a single gunshot during this entire video? How is that even possible? I mean, it lasted for over 7 minutes!!!
Calgarian over here. I also started riding my bicycle to work just a couple of weeks ago because of your videos. Calgary is a nice place for bicycles but there are still more room for improvement. Do you have any ideas where can I get more information on where I can and can't ride my bike? I only saw 1 "article" article that said " cyclist can ride anywhere in Calgary except Deerfoot"..how true is that?
Any other Victoria people here confused about why the Dallas Rd bike lane ends at clover point rather than continuing down the hill to the shops in Fairfield?
The Dallas Road bike lanes were installed as part of the CRD force main project from the pump station at Clover Pt to the new sewage treatment centre. The plan is to extend them along Dallas Road in the future.
Not sure if Ed will see this at this point, but I hope he gets his helmet fit properly. It's pushed way too far back to do him any good if he were to hit his head in the front, unfortunately. If you're going to wear a helmet (I do!), it's worthwhile double checking that you've got it fit properly. :)
I'm also from Victoria, and I've been delighted with recent bike infrastructure developments despite some localized NIMBY'izms that wail about socialists and government over-reach. Lights are definitely a problem. It's not unusual to find all four directions of traffic stopped listening to crickets and watching tumbleweed roll through (and feeling noticeably older when the green light finally resumes). One area that warrants more attention is the high rate of bike theft from often secure homes and condominiums putting a chill on people wanting to commute to work or shop in the downtown core. Victoria is still a very car-centric city that is slowly and reluctantly waking to the necessity and benefits of alternative transportation. Too bad you didn't pan your camera over the new $86 million dollar Mc Kenzie overpass to show where the really big money is going.
It’s certainly infinitely better than my large town. I still think that we’re too late in the climate crisis to build Dutch style infrastructure everywhere though, and we need to get rid of cars from urban areas. But we definitely need the settlement to settlement bike paths. And the secure bike storage. Those two things for me are what will make all the difference, and get people cycling in the fastest possible time.
I actually snapped a picture of the Johnson Street Bridge when I was in Victoria and sometimes use it in a foreign-language class. It was awful and prevented me from cycling to Esquimalt at the time, but it was so interesting looking for other purposes.
As a Vancouverite, I think it's decent, they had a lot of old people pushback too, but they got it done, and as usual. once it's in, even the olds realize it was the right thing to do.
I think the underrated thing is that, for a city of its size, Victoria has great, livable density that just sets the city on the right foot. I really enjoyed it.
Victoria is not entirely flat - there are a lot of hills once you get out of the central core. I would have loved to live there, but my partner refused to give the idea a moments consideration, so I have been stuck in Vancouver.
The thing that has been discouraging me from commuting on my bike, is getting so sweaty, do you have a video about this? I'm curious if you wear gym clothes during the ride, then change into your business casual after you arrive in the office??
What's the climate like where you ride? I ride an upright bike at a pretty common place here (around 15 km/h within the city) and sweating isn't an issue for me normally, but then we have a very moderate climate. I think in most climates moderating your speed is a big factor, but some climates (or terrains with lots of hills) will get you sweaty basically just getting outside. An e-bike can sometimes help.
I used to live in Victoria before the most recent of the bike infrastructure went in, and man it makes me envious. Saskatoon is about 10 years behind, and it's so absolutely frustrating. So many people here can't even conceive of an alternative to car-centric design. Also, seeing the way the bike infrastructure just disappears give me one more reason to despise the culture behind the tweed curtain.
hi, new to bikes, just started riding and am 100% sure i made a mistake in what bike i got. i plan i riding around mostly urban environments and have zero desire to ride trails or whatever you call terrains where you would need the mountain bike i currently have. i dont have a lot of money but am serious about getting into shape and riding. also, since im new im not looking for anything advanced. anyways can someone help me out here with what kind of bike i should look to get? any comments would be much appreciated!
Shifter, I've noticed you never wear a helmet! Were you aware that British Columbia has one of the few mandatory adult helmet laws? As a victorian urbanist myself, I see this policy as a major inhibitor to growth in cycling locally. People will get pulled over and harassed by police, after which deciding to wear a helmet, at the very least, contributing to the stereotype that helmets are necessary, and that cycling is an unsafe activity needing protection. At worst, it will make cycling more inconvenient and sub-consciously discourage them from doing so.
What Id really like to know is.. what kind of storage/trailer that Ed has in front of his bike! Looks like a child carrier. But Ive never seen one that goes in front of the bike. Usually behind the bike, being towed
Ed has a lot of insight on bike infrastructure around Victoria, but all I could think was, "That helmet is barely on his head. If he suddenly flies over the handlebars, his forehead is just as vulnerable as someone who didn't wear a helmet at all!" This normally wouldn't bother me so much, but since he's representing the cyclist community of Victoria, it might set a precedent for unwanted backlash
Agreed! It's so sad to see an improperly fit helmet. You get the negatives of a helmet, with drivers treating you as if you weren't quite as vulnerable and such, with minimal protection (at least in the forward direction and possibly in the rear, since it did seem oddly shifted, and I anticipate the angles were less than ideal there too). Hopefully he's able to get a better fitting helmet (or maybe it was just his cap that was causing it to fit weirdly on filming day?).
Did anyone hassle you riding with no helmet? I’m a couple towns up from Victoria and it’s impossible to go for a ride without a helmet without someone getting super angry.
Rails to trails is a mistake. It allows municipalities to put in miles of bike trails, which are mostly recreational, and mostly aimed at suburban white cyclists who use a car for transportation. They do little or nothing for bike commuting. But people can point to them and say look how many miles of bike infrastructure we have. Meanwhile what most cyclists need is an actual network of connected protected lanes which meet up. If your 12 year old can't safely bike on it, it's a failure. The other way rails to trails is a mistake is they tear up rail lines, which increases car dependence. Those lines could have been used for light rail for travel between cities, which was often their originalpurpose.. Not likely now.
Perhaps this is true in some cases but having used both the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails mentioned in this video, they both are used heavily for commuting purposes, not just recreationally.
oh and I used the Arbutus Greenway in Vancouver right after it opened up, it's another rail to trail, and despite it having only been opened up it was already heavily used by many people to commute.
Victoria, BC is the FORMER CYCLING CAPITAL of CANADA ...we lost our status after years of advocates compromising cyclist safety so that they could garner public funding. The truth is there are ZERO All Ages & Ability lanes in the entire region; the old infrastructure is all NARROWER than the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) safety guidelines minimum allowable widths; and worse, all of the new "protected" lanes, and all of the rail trails (Galloping Goose, E&N, and Lochside) are HALF the minimum allowable TAC widths. Pullman is all publicity and will only speak positive, careful not to offend his funding source ...the city is never going to catch up when all it does it compromise cyclist safety with #way2narrow infrastructure that leaves the disabled, elderly and side-by-side family cycling behind.
{sigh} More Canada envy. Are there any small Canadian towns, say, under 50,000, who are doing it right? I need an example to show to my city. We're making changes, but it's s l o o o o w, and the drivers complain at every step.
Thank you Philip! I appreciate that you always spend time watching and commenting. You always make great contributions. I appreciate the vote of confidence!
Another thing I found interesting from Victoria is that, not matter how good a city's natural assets -- flat topography, dense city, favourable weather -- you still need to build bike infrastructure if you want to see people using bikes to get around.
I live in Victoria and the insane level of Bike Theft here, and zero being done about it, makes using the bike for practical use basically impossible. Great to go for a ride for exercise, but can’t leave your bike locked up here at all. Basically if you live here and cycle, you have had multiple bikes stolen. I now only use the bike for exercise and am forced to use the car for real life.
@@mdbourne In Seattle there’s a college neighborhood called “U-District”. My friend is currently staying there and says he finds biking down there incredibly convenient to get to UW, Stores, and Restaurants but he has had 3 incidences of his bike getting stolen from regular street bike racks.
Once this happens he’s basically out of luck. He’s reported it to the police and all but it’s rare to get your bike back afterwards. The police recommend him to ditch the chain and get a U-Lock so that’s now what he has but putting myself in his shoes I think I would absolutely be devastated after experiencing so many bike thefts. Given the price of my bike it would really financially ruin me as a broke student
@@jarjarbinks6018 it is so frustrating. I know many who used to cycle regularly, but once your bike gets stolen 3-4x times you give up. And even if you use multiple locks, either they still steal it, or they then vandalize it and kick the spokes out. Either way, your walking home. The last time my bike was stolen i had it registered in the 529 app, and reported to the local police. The officer directly told me their was 0% chance i would get my bike back, cause no one was even looking. The concept of biking as transportation is pointless if you cant be confident it will be there for the return trip.
@@mdbourne I totally agree. The feeling of hopelessness after losing your bike like that is very sobering
@@mdbourne I've lived in Victoria a few times, most recently in 2019 and never had any issues with my bike, even leaving it locked up on Wharf st over a weekend. Maybe my bikes are not worth enough to steal or the fact I use Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit U-locks helped keep my bikes secure?
Victoria resident here: Ed is absolutely correct about the frustrations we have with the lack of coordination between municipalities. You can have a wonderful, uninterrupted protected lane network for 75% of your ride and then you are abruptly dumped into car traffic (sometimes without even a painted bike gutter). I also would like to point out that there's quite a bit of improvement needed to bicycle right-of-way here - especially at the new bike lane intersections. The timing of the lights is stuck in limbo and quite often cyclists jump the lights after a frustratingly long wait for their crossing signal. The Dutch would be appalled :) We're still stuck in a mindset where we *must* cater to automobile users first and then think about making provisions for other modes of transport - City Hall needs to prioritize the comfort, safety, and ease of flow for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users when making these infrastructure projects. Thanks for coming to town! ❤️
Thanks for the context. I did experience a few moments in which the infrastructure just kind of disappeared on me, but it some ways it made me feel like home 😉
The nice thing is that light timing is something that can be easily adjusted if there's the will. It doesn't soon like there is yet, but at least that's one less hurdle to overcome.
Agreed, but traffic light timing is a problem across downtown Victoria; not just signals at intersections with cycle infrastructure.
@@jasonarthurs3885 but specifically on intersections like Bay & Vancouver (with the button activated crossing).. whenever I'm there it's a long wait and at least 1 or 2 people jumping the light. I agree there's some head scratchers in terms of light timing throughout downtown, but these are dangerous oversights. Cyclists and pedestrians should have priority at these crossings.
@@aidanknight Yes, prioritizing cyclists and pedestrians at such intersections would improve safety for all road users.
Don't get me started on the horribly improved intersection at Happy Valley & Sooke Roads.
The last section hit the nail on the head. Oak Bay is full of old people scared of change (and young people).
Nice Tern folding bike! I use one too as my daily commuter.
It was my first trip with it. More to come!
A month and a half ago I moved to Traverse City, Michigan which is pretty bike friendly with a pretty extensive biking network. I would have never imagined how much I actually enjoy it. I feel like a kid again riding my Specialized Turbo Vado everywhere. Amazing how many errands I can do by bicycle. It’s turned into a challenge now to do as much by bicycle as possible.
Welcome back!
The problem with using a good bike for regular transportation is theft. Vancouver has the highest rate of bicycle theft per capita in Canada (Calgary is second). I couldn't find any data for Victoria, BC but it's close enough to Vancouver that I wouldn't use a good bike there either (plus it rains a lot in Victoria).
@@MrJx4000 True, but there's quite a few measures a person can go through to make their bicycle less likely to be stolen. 18mm U-Locks, bike registration display stickers (like Project 529), choosing good locations to lock up your bike, and even GPS can all help. Most bikes I see out on the street use weak locks, don't lock both wheels, etc; those are much more likely targets because they're so much easier to steal.
Do you have a resource for bike friendly places in MI?
Resident here. Victoria has decent infrastructure, but as a kind of catch-22 the mostly complete network makes you notice the gaps in the network even more.
Also the biggest problem for cycling in Victoria now is probably bike theft, I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned. Even a good lock and a publicly located parking place is not enough to deter thieves, the city is desperately in need of more indoor secured parking and honestly some enforcement against thieves to get the problem back to manageable levels in the public's perception
That's a great point: every day on 529 Garage I get an alert that someone's bike was stolen from their underground apartment bike lockup area or from their yard. Capital Bike and another company is working on launching the Bike Valet for downtown secured lockup which is a good first step.
Sadly, I don't think this is unique to Victoria. Pretty much every city in the world has a bike-theft problem. I've covered this issue a bit in the past, and I have more in the works so stay tuned!
@@Shifter_Cycling I would be really interested in seeing a video looking at the use of bikes by the homeless. I mention it because I'm assuming that at least some of the theft is related to chronic issues of poverty and addiction. But I also feel that bikes for the homeless, as for many of us, is also a quality of life issue. When there are so many barriers to private and public transportation (expense, accessibility, practicality) bikes do provide a private, personal and practical form of transportation for those of minimal means. I strongly feel we need a "free bike" program for those in need to reduce incentives for theft and to provide some quality of life.
Booo, Oak Bay!! Get with the program!
Thanks for the info tour, Tom and Ed.
Yeah. I wonder if a lot of car centric retired people live there or families who think everyone needs a single family home to live?
Considering that there's a lot of old rich folk who live in that area they do not want the increased traffic. They have a Marina to park their boats, 5 star Hotel, and a private renowned golf course with a stunning waterfront & mountain range view, The last thing they want is accessibility for the rest of the population there. Just stating facts as a former resident.
Oak Bay is actively harmful to Greater Victoria on so many levels. In a region with a fast growing population and a housing crisis (3rd lowest vaccany rate in Canada, worse than Metro Vancouver iirc), the muncipality 3km from downtown, home to half of UVic's campus, managed to classism its way into population decline. Also, despite having some of the most expensive properties in Canada, they can't afford to maintain their aging infrastructure. Like aaahhh
I've never been to Victoria, BC so it was very interesting to see some of this city. One thing I'd like to add as an aside to your video is how it is just so great to explore a city by bicycle and it looks like that's what you were doing. The bicycle is the best way to get around most cities and it is such a great way to really see and enjoy a city.
It is definitely the best way to explore a city!
Victoria is a very touristy city, and it’s been great to see so many visitors renting bikes to explore, even if they don’t quite understand the bike laws all the time.
Resident Victorian here; both of my commutes have me using the Galloping Goose. One short 20-minute ride to downtown, the other, 80-minute ride to outlying community of Sooke some 40 kms away. I agree with other commenters here that rails to trails isn't a perfect transition, but for my type of cycle commuting it's suitable.
I just wish that ALL trail users would abide by the posted guidelines.
A few things I've appreciated about Victoria as a newly-returned resident:
1. The downtown protected bike lanes are fantastic and well-used; I'm glad the city has stayed the course on bike infrastructure despite the steady outcry typical of any sort of development in Victoria
2. Many municipalities (e.g. Victoria and Saanich) have ambitious Active Transportation plans, so I have faith that this progress will continue. Shelbourne street is a nightmare right now with 4 narrow lanes of road and sidewalks immediately adjacent to that road, but I looked it up and there's a redevelopment project (with bike lanes) already in progress. Nice.
3. Bishop's Family Cycles downtown is fantastic. I just recently bought a cargo ebike, and if I had done so in Ottawa, I would have found an ebike shop that carries maybe 2 cargo ebikes as an afterthought. In Victoria, I was able to go to Bishop's and test ride a ton of them, settling on one I never would have considered when I was just looking at things on paper.
I visited Bishop's! It's a fantastic bike shop. Thanks for the extra context.
I've lived in Victoria for more than a decade now and Shelbourne Street has been an active construction zone since day one; it still is under construction.
Very cool. I love seeing what's being done in other communities and lament the lack of biking infrastructure here in most of the U.S. It will take something like this current gas crisis to perhaps wake some people up!
lol I love how much shade he was throwing to Oak Bay. Although Im not a fan of bi-directional lanes, the downtown lanes are much better than none. The Galloping Goose, Lochside and E&N Trail are fantastic cycling highways, but they only really work as leisure or A to B cycling and arent really suited to most people doing little trips. (Besides Oak Bay) the other municipalities around Victoria dont have protected bike lanes, but every road has a bike gutter which makes it pretty nice to get around by bike.
It's striking what a strong negative correlation there is between the wealth of a neighbourhood and its bike infrastructure. If you look at the map (search "CRD Bike Map"), I'd list the wealthy areas as being James Bay, Fairfield, Oak Bay, Cadboro Bay, Gordon Head, and Cordova Bay, and all of them are bike infrastructure dead zones; the only non-wealthy dead zones in the central CRD are West Esquimalt and Royal Oak. Rich people really hate bikes mildly inconveniencing them.
Not even enough shade being thrown at Oak Bay, that "community" is appalling. The whole municipality is almost explicitly based around leeching off of the success and hard work of nearby municipalities like Saanich and Victoria without contributing to that work. They are not really a community, they actively work against their greater community every chance they get.
@@rileynicholson2322 Hey now, why should a municipality 3km from the downtown core of a provincial capital have a gas station, or a large grocery store, or non-boutique commercial, or any significant non single-family zoning, or any industrial zoning at all, or bike/transit infrastructure? That's for poor people to build elsewhere and for me to drive to! /s
Thanks for visiting and filming our little city! The expansion of active transportation in Victoria is one of the most exciting things to happen in this town since I moved here in 2000. Lots work still to do, between getting more residents on board, creating better connections between communities, and addressing rampant bike theft. Still, it's really a pleasure and privilege to cycle safely around such a beautiful place everyday.
I absolutely love cycling in Victoria. I would really love it if Tom could come to Abbotsford, BC and do a profile of what a growing formerly urban, currently suburban stroadscape could look like. We're in the Vancouver region and have such great examples of what great infrastructure could look like, but our local leaders have almost zero interest in providing safe streets for bikes / pedestrians. With municipal elections this year, having a video like this could possibly help frame a bit of the conversation
The city actually plans on improving its infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, but from what I read they'll need to up their annual budget for those things (20-30% increase) to reach the stated goals (91%% of trips are done by car right now, they want to lower it to 75% before the city hits 200k population). It's called the OCP / master transportation and transit master plan, there's like a 120 page PDF with graphics on what they plan on doing. It's cool, check it out.
When I was in school I would bike from Huntingdon (at the sumas border) up in to town to see people. It was hilariously not supported, but the industrial road Riverside at least had low traffic.
One time a semi's wheel launched a rock off the road that knocked me off my bike though - freak accident really, but I'll never forget.
That you still have ideas for content is quiet impressive!
I wish I was still living in Victoria. 😊
Calgary needs a single coordinated biking infrastructure policy and department.
Oxford (UK) is also pretty good as a cycling city, but as well could do better. There is now new investment, and it is flat, but there are large bits of missing infrastructure. Leading to pinch points like The Plain near St Clements, and it is an accident blackspot. The LTNs are meeting large opposition when first introduced, but after 18 months people are starting to become won over.
It's a shame so many bike paths were put in as an afterthought - paths alternating up and down between pavement and road, and going around streetlights. Sometimes it's safer to just stay on the road. Also a distinct lack of trees for shade, especially along the Eastern By-Pass.
The gaps in infrastructure create such problems, but can be such easy fixes. I don't know why cities are so bad at fixing this.
Would be nice when the members of city councils would be obliged to use public transport and bikes a couple of weeks each year to get around theirr own town. Maybe also include the people working in the transport and planning departments. I wonder how that would influence the decision making progress. 🤗
@@Shifter_Cycling well Oxford does have almost 1000 year old colleagues sitting in some choice locations and a river getting in the way. If you want to travel within the ring road bike is almost always quickest as its a medieval layout designed to resist invasion with lots of narrow streets. Its just that you always have to plan your route carefully to avoid aggressive roads/car congestion or the few hills. The other problem is it relies of shared use cycleways too much, ride along the river on a warm evening and its too busy to get anywhere.
Thanks!
Thank you Keith for the support! I really appreciate it. Glad you got something out of the video, and this certainly helps me keep things going!
I'd like to learn about Ed's bike. It looks like an interesting setup.
That's right. Richardson is a COLLECTOR STREET. In other words, it is a CRITICAL ROUTE for inter-municipal travel. With it closed, traffic has dramatically increased on the already heavily congested ARTERIAL routes. Closing this street to vehicles is EXTREMELY short-sighted.
I think in classic suburban style hyper residential streets (the narrower ones that have like no markings and such) designated bike lanes shouldn’t be needed because if a bike lane is needed that means the traffic calming has failed in some capacity since vehicles should be driving so slow that sharrows intuitively make sense.
The arterials or regular style roads designed for traffic flow reasons however that these residential streets connect up to almost always should have designated bike paths because cars will be traveling fast enough that it would be unreasonable and dangerous for a bike to attempt to ride in traffic with them. Less conflict, better for bike commuting
I was quite impressed with the traffic-calmed streets I saw in Victoria. That shot at the end of the video is a great example -- there was a mini protected public space with a bench and flowers right in the middle of a street. It was great.
@@Shifter_Cycling I completely agree. It looks like it makes good use of what would have otherwise been dead open space. It looks like something I would love in my own neighborhood
Have you looked at Montreal? The BIXI rentals were EVERYWHERE when I was there at the start of June... so many REAL bike lanes!
Montreal is one of my favourite cities in the world. I can't wait to get back.
Welcome to the island. I live up island and sadly there are gaps that make it impossible for me to bike to Victoria.
I've biked to and from Victoria as I'm sure you likely know so it's absolutely doable. You just have to have nerves of steel while along the side of the highway.
Years ago, I rode a crappy mountain bike from Nanaimo to Victoria. I don't think I would attempt that again!
Great content! I see you have a folding bike that you use in the video. Is that your own folding bike and have you ridden one before? I live in Toronto where our cycling network is okay in downtown, but is kinda left out outside of downtown. I recently bought a folding bike from the brand "decathlon" to commute to and from school. Will be my first time commuting to school by bike!
Thanks for the content!
Thank you so much for the support! I really appreciate it. 🙏🏼😁🙏🏼
I like your Foldie
Great video about bicycling in one of the nicest cities in N. America. I rode my bicycle from Vancouver to the coast, island hopped the gulf islands, then along the Southern tip of Vancouver island into Victoria 30 years ago, one of the highlights of my life. Tom, why the folding bicycle and which one?
I was in Victoria about 5 years ago and didn't really notice much bike infrastructure in downtown..... The trails don't matter if the last few blocks are death traps.
You came just a tiny bit too early, most of the network was built within the last 5 years, after you left. And there's more on the way!
I’m in Victoria right beside the goose. Have been enjoying my quick trips downtown
Greetings from New Orleans. I noticed that I didn't hear a single gunshot during this entire video? How is that even possible? I mean, it lasted for over 7 minutes!!!
Dutch camera angle on the intro. Nice touch!
Calgarian over here. I also started riding my bicycle to work just a couple of weeks ago because of your videos. Calgary is a nice place for bicycles but there are still more room for improvement.
Do you have any ideas where can I get more information on where I can and can't ride my bike? I only saw 1 "article" article that said " cyclist can ride anywhere in Calgary except Deerfoot"..how true is that?
Any other Victoria people here confused about why the Dallas Rd bike lane ends at clover point rather than continuing down the hill to the shops in Fairfield?
The Dallas Road bike lanes were installed as part of the CRD force main project from the pump station at Clover Pt to the new sewage treatment centre. The plan is to extend them along Dallas Road in the future.
come to Winnipeg, let's have some fun! lol
Crazy seeing you in my neighbourhood here!
Not sure if Ed will see this at this point, but I hope he gets his helmet fit properly. It's pushed way too far back to do him any good if he were to hit his head in the front, unfortunately. If you're going to wear a helmet (I do!), it's worthwhile double checking that you've got it fit properly. :)
Weather is huge advantage too.
I'm also from Victoria, and I've been delighted with recent bike infrastructure developments despite some localized NIMBY'izms that wail about socialists and government over-reach. Lights are definitely a problem. It's not unusual to find all four directions of traffic stopped listening to crickets and watching tumbleweed roll through (and feeling noticeably older when the green light finally resumes). One area that warrants more attention is the high rate of bike theft from often secure homes and condominiums putting a chill on people wanting to commute to work or shop in the downtown core. Victoria is still a very car-centric city that is slowly and reluctantly waking to the necessity and benefits of alternative transportation. Too bad you didn't pan your camera over the new $86 million dollar Mc Kenzie overpass to show where the really big money is going.
Victoria looks chill
It’s certainly infinitely better than my large town. I still think that we’re too late in the climate crisis to build Dutch style infrastructure everywhere though, and we need to get rid of cars from urban areas. But we definitely need the settlement to settlement bike paths. And the secure bike storage. Those two things for me are what will make all the difference, and get people cycling in the fastest possible time.
Welcome to the Left Coast!
Nice Arcteryx jacket :) Wich one is that and do you use it often to cycle around town?
Haha I remember the Johnson Street Bridge back when I lived in Victoria in the late 90s 🤣 I would simply not go to esquimalt
I went across it on my bike a couple times and it was a harrowing experience to say the least.
I actually snapped a picture of the Johnson Street Bridge when I was in Victoria and sometimes use it in a foreign-language class. It was awful and prevented me from cycling to Esquimalt at the time, but it was so interesting looking for other purposes.
this looks incredible compared to my crappy ontario city.
And devastatingly no bike share. Desperately needed.
tom from shifter is in my house (I live there)
No cyclist ever says their city has done better than expected on improving people friendly modes of transportation except perhaps the Dutch.
Nope, even the dutch always say it could be better. 🤗
As a Vancouverite, I think it's decent, they had a lot of old people pushback too, but they got it done, and as usual. once it's in, even the olds realize it was the right thing to do.
Another good video. Thanks. What kind of folding bike are you using? Is it a rental?
Definitely a Tern. A Verge maybe?
Looks like a Tern Link D7i. Looks like internal hub gearing.
It's my new Tern. A video on it is coming. Stay tuned.
How about a "MASS RIDE" through Oak Bay.
You finally made it to Canada's cycling mecca
I think the underrated thing is that, for a city of its size, Victoria has great, livable density that just sets the city on the right foot. I really enjoyed it.
You the best Tom!
Hi Josh. Thank you so much! This means a lot, and I appreciate it 👍🏻
Make Street parking illegal. That's the next step. Protected bike lanes should be mandatory on every major street.
Why? Just to discourage car use?
Victoria is not entirely flat - there are a lot of hills once you get out of the central core. I would have loved to live there, but my partner refused to give the idea a moments consideration, so I have been stuck in Vancouver.
I mean, Vancouver isn't a terrible second-choice
@@Shifter_Cycling Victoria is the better choice though.
You plan a similar video for Montreal eventually?
The thing that has been discouraging me from commuting on my bike, is getting so sweaty, do you have a video about this? I'm curious if you wear gym clothes during the ride, then change into your business casual after you arrive in the office??
What's the climate like where you ride? I ride an upright bike at a pretty common place here (around 15 km/h within the city) and sweating isn't an issue for me normally, but then we have a very moderate climate. I think in most climates moderating your speed is a big factor, but some climates (or terrains with lots of hills) will get you sweaty basically just getting outside. An e-bike can sometimes help.
MEH? What does that mean?
I used to live in Victoria before the most recent of the bike infrastructure went in, and man it makes me envious. Saskatoon is about 10 years behind, and it's so absolutely frustrating. So many people here can't even conceive of an alternative to car-centric design.
Also, seeing the way the bike infrastructure just disappears give me one more reason to despise the culture behind the tweed curtain.
hi, new to bikes, just started riding and am 100% sure i made a mistake in what bike i got. i plan i riding around mostly urban environments and have zero desire to ride trails or whatever you call terrains where you would need the mountain bike i currently have. i dont have a lot of money but am serious about getting into shape and riding. also, since im new im not looking for anything advanced. anyways can someone help me out here with what kind of bike i should look to get? any comments would be much appreciated!
Shifter, I've noticed you never wear a helmet! Were you aware that British Columbia has one of the few mandatory adult helmet laws?
As a victorian urbanist myself, I see this policy as a major inhibitor to growth in cycling locally. People will get pulled over and harassed by police, after which deciding to wear a helmet, at the very least, contributing to the stereotype that helmets are necessary, and that cycling is an unsafe activity needing protection. At worst, it will make cycling more inconvenient and sub-consciously discourage them from doing so.
You have a foldie?!?
What Id really like to know is.. what kind of storage/trailer that Ed has in front of his bike! Looks like a child carrier. But Ive never seen one that goes in front of the bike. Usually behind the bike, being towed
Pretty sure he's riding a Bullitt Cargo Bike.
Two way bike paths beside roads? :( Those suck
Ed has a lot of insight on bike infrastructure around Victoria, but all I could think was, "That helmet is barely on his head. If he suddenly flies over the handlebars, his forehead is just as vulnerable as someone who didn't wear a helmet at all!"
This normally wouldn't bother me so much, but since he's representing the cyclist community of Victoria, it might set a precedent for unwanted backlash
Agreed! It's so sad to see an improperly fit helmet. You get the negatives of a helmet, with drivers treating you as if you weren't quite as vulnerable and such, with minimal protection (at least in the forward direction and possibly in the rear, since it did seem oddly shifted, and I anticipate the angles were less than ideal there too). Hopefully he's able to get a better fitting helmet (or maybe it was just his cap that was causing it to fit weirdly on filming day?).
What is that helmet wearing technique?
Did anyone hassle you riding with no helmet?
I’m a couple towns up from Victoria and it’s impossible to go for a ride without a helmet without someone getting super angry.
Victoria is like a village of 100,000 people..not a major city in North america
Which foldable u riding?
A Tern. A video on it is in the works.
Rails to trails is a mistake. It allows municipalities to put in miles of bike trails, which are mostly recreational, and mostly aimed at suburban white cyclists who use a car for transportation. They do little or nothing for bike commuting. But people can point to them and say look how many miles of bike infrastructure we have. Meanwhile what most cyclists need is an actual network of connected protected lanes which meet up. If your 12 year old can't safely bike on it, it's a failure.
The other way rails to trails is a mistake is they tear up rail lines, which increases car dependence. Those lines could have been used for light rail for travel between cities, which was often their originalpurpose.. Not likely now.
Some good points
Perhaps this is true in some cases but having used both the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails mentioned in this video, they both are used heavily for commuting purposes, not just recreationally.
oh and I used the Arbutus Greenway in Vancouver right after it opened up, it's another rail to trail, and despite it having only been opened up it was already heavily used by many people to commute.
@@zalafinari I didn't specify any of those.
@@tthomas184 Your statement was a general one. I was providing counter examples to your general claim.
Victoria, BC is the FORMER CYCLING CAPITAL of CANADA ...we lost our status after years of advocates compromising cyclist safety so that they could garner public funding. The truth is there are ZERO All Ages & Ability lanes in the entire region; the old infrastructure is all NARROWER than the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) safety guidelines minimum allowable widths; and worse, all of the new "protected" lanes, and all of the rail trails (Galloping Goose, E&N, and Lochside) are HALF the minimum allowable TAC widths. Pullman is all publicity and will only speak positive, careful not to offend his funding source ...the city is never going to catch up when all it does it compromise cyclist safety with #way2narrow infrastructure that leaves the disabled, elderly and side-by-side family cycling behind.
I’m in porterville California a 1/4 of population is on bikes and we are concidered criminals by the police
Misread the thumbnail. Though it said "... or meth"
yeah it sucks by European standards of cycling infra
{sigh} More Canada envy.
Are there any small Canadian towns, say, under 50,000, who are doing it right? I need an example to show to my city. We're making changes, but it's s l o o o o w, and the drivers complain at every step.
Oh don't worry, they complain here too ;)
Where's your helmet?
Thanks!
Thank you Philip! I appreciate that you always spend time watching and commenting. You always make great contributions. I appreciate the vote of confidence!