Metro Vancouver cycling network has grown: report

A local research group has published a report on the state of cycling in Metro Vancouver.

HUB Cycling is a Metro Vancouver-based non-profit with a mission to improve cycling conditions for the city.

On May 2, the group released a status report on the regional bike route network from 2016 to 2021.

As of 2021, the report says, routes in the city span 4,676 km, which is about 230 km longer than a flight from Vancouver to Halifax.

Analysis within shows how cycling behaviours, climate change, and infrastructure affected the network across the years of study.

The report claims the COVID 19 pandemic changed cycling in Vancouver for better and for worse.

“The dynamics impacting the rate of development of new cycling infrastructure during the period between 2019 and 2021 are more complex than they would have been had the pandemic not occurred,” it says. “While cycling became a solution for transportation, exercise, and social interaction during COVID “social distancing”, the pandemic also negatively impacted governmental budgets and materials supply chains, and impeded the ability for governmental and private sector staff to complete infrastructure installations.”

Between 2016 and 2021, Metro Vancouver added 244 km to its route network. The report says 53 per cent of what was added is considered “comfortable for most” cyclists.

HUB Cycling says it hopes the report spurs new research and that “the findings are helpful to future infrastructure planning.”