Access to cycling is unfair across Canadian cities

A cyclist rolls down a bicycle lane in downtown Montréal. Despite expansions in cycling infrastructure over the decade, some equity gaps persist. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Access to cycling is unfair across Canadian cities Published: July 23, 2026 12.22pm EDT Share article Print article Cities in Canada are creating bike infrastructure to support active and sustainable transportation. But as bike networks expand, some neighbourhoods tend to benefit more than others, and that raises an important question: Who is benefiting from these investments? In our recent research, we investigated this question by analyzing the evolution of cycling infrastructure in Montréal, Vancouver and Victoria between 2011 and 2021. We found that neighbourhoods with more children, older adults and racialized people were often farther from new cycling infrastructure, even as bike networks expanded. Cycling infrastructure includes cycle tracks, bike-only paths, local street bikeways, multi-use paths and painted bike lanes. A recent survey by the Canadian Automobile Association showed that almost one in three Canadians would consider biking more if they had access to better infrastructure. The survey found that inadequate cycling infrastructure was the most commonly cited reason for not cycling more, even ahead of bad weather. Active transportation like walking and cycling connect us to nearby communities and amenities. It can promote socially connected communities, reduce the risk of depression and stress and provide opportunities for physical activity. Despite these benefits, only between one to six per cent of Canadians use active transportation as their main mode of commuting. Many factors can effect whether people take up cycling, including the cost of a bike and education for safe cycling. Our findings Montréal, Vancouver and Victoria are three Canadian cities that differ in size, demographics and their approaches to building cycling networks. Our study into how cycling infrastructure had evolved in those three communities did not include shared lanes with painted markings but no physical separation between bicycles and vehicles (“sharrows”) because of their known safety risks. Our study also left out other cycling-related facilities, such as bicycle parking or lockers. Despite expansions in cycling infrastructure over the decade, some equity gaps persisted. Across all three cities, areas with more children and, to a lesser extent, older adults, were…