Fitness: If you build it, they will cycle

Montreal Gazette

13 hours ago

The last several decades have seen communities across the country slowly increase their cycling infrastructure. Bike paths and bike lanes are designed to promote a more active lifestyle, yet only about one per cent of working Canadians 15 years and older use a bike as their main form of transportation to and from their job.
A great way to sneak in exercise during a busy day, active commuting doesn't just mean cycling to the office and back. Biking to the commuter train or tram, to pick up groceries, to the library and/or friends' houses can all add valuable exercise minutes to the day. Some studies report that two hours of cycling a week results in a nearly 10 per cent reduction in mortality, not a bad return for leaving the car at home for short commutes.
But the key to getting more people to choose their bike over the car is ensuring they feel safe on the road. In a battle for space on city streets, cyclists are almost always the loser. So dedicated bike paths are the key to creating more bike-friendly cities.
But not just any bike path will do. The safer the bike path is perceived, the more likely it is to get used.
Studies done in European, American and Australian cities state that dedicated bike paths or routes, a physical separation between cyclists and cars, and the proximity between cyclist and the closest bike path, all play a role in promoting more active transportation. Yet, little is known about how improvements to cycling infrastructure has changed cycling culture in Canada, so a team of researchers, urban planners and public health scientists from Queens, Ottawa and McGill universities and federal public health agencies studied the impact of bike lane safety and improved proximity on cycling behaviour in Montreal.
Considered one of the most bike-friendly cities in Canada due to its extensive network of bike lanes and popular bike-share program, Montreal is the ideal city to evaluate the impact of cycling infrastructure on cycling behaviour. And with additions to the city's cycling network, it's also a great choice to evaluate whether adding more bike paths results in more people using bikes in urban settings.
'This study is the first to explore the associations between changes to an entire cycling network and self-reported population-level cycling for transportation and recreation in a Canadian metropolitan area,' said the research team behind the study published in June 2025.
Using data from a national health survey that followed respondents from 1994-2011, the researchers highlighted cyclists who reported cycling to work, school, to do errands as well as those who cycle for recreation. Using maps of Montreal cycling routes and bike lanes, the researchers analyzed how cycling behaviour changed while cycling infrastructure improved. They also examined whether the perceived safety of local bike paths had an impact on their use.
The researchers defined cycle pathways that are bike-only and physically separated from cars (by bollards, a median or cement curbs) as high comfort, bike paths shared with pedestrians as medium comfort and bike paths on busy roads separated by painted lines as low comfort. Then they quantified and rated all bike paths on their level of safety, gauged their proximity to the respondents' home addresses and tracked the number of Montrealers reported cycling for transportation or recreation over two decades. The results created a complete picture of just how welcoming the streets of Montreal are for cyclists.
Not surprisingly, the safer and more convenient the bike lane, the more it was used.
'We found that exposure to high-comfort cycling infrastructure within a predefined acceptable distance threshold was associated with a 28 per cent greater likelihood of engagement in cycling for recreation or transportation,' said the researchers.
Medium-comfort bike lanes — sharing a bike lane with pedestrians but still with a physical separation from vehicles — were also well used, especially by recreational cyclists.
Interestingly, safer bike lanes saw a greater boost in cycling activity among women than men, a finding replicated by similar studies in other countries.
Clearly, adding more cyclists and fewer cars to city streets requires continued investment in bike lanes and cycling safety. It's no longer enough to paint a few lines along a narrow corridor of an existing city street and call it a bike lane. Intentional urban planning with high-to-medium safety bike lanes increases perceived safety, which makes them a better fit for anyone who wants to travel through the city on two wheels instead of four.
'This research further strengthens the evidence in Canada that cycle paths, especially of higher comfort and safety, can promote cycling,' said the researchers.
Greater use of bikes in urban environments doesn't just result in healthier and more active communities but can also lead to better air quality and less traffic congestion. Making cities cleaner, safer and easier to navigate is in everyone's favour, even those who don't have plans to trade in their car for a bike...yet.