September 25, 2024 • 25 mins
Subha Ramanathan, Manager of Programs and Partnerships for the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in Ontario, explains Ontario's transformative Bike Friendly Community Awards – touching on how municipalities achieve scores (The Five 'E's), how the awards competition boosts active transportation, and how we might bring this program to BC.
BONUS: Peter's Rant! In which Peter unleashes his fury on those invisible nighttime riders.
To learn about the Share the Road Cycling Coalition and Bike Friendly Communities visit sharetheroad.ca. To find out more about US cities and their bike-friendly projects, go to bikeleague.org/bfcideabook
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The Bike Sense podcast with Peter Ladner is produced by the BC Cycling Coalition – your voice for safer and more accessible cycling and active transportation in British Columbia.
Got feedback or ideas for future episodes? Please drop us an email at admin@bccycling.ca.
Membership in the BCCC is now FREE! The future of this podcast depends on people like you becoming members at BCCycling.ca.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Peter Ladner (00:07):
Welcome to Bike Sense, the BC Cycling
Coalition's podcast, where wetalk about all things related to
active transportation advocacyin BC.
I'm your host, peter Ladner,chair of the Board of the BC
Cycling Coalition.
I hope you enjoy the show ofthe board of the BC Cycling
(00:30):
Coalition.
I hope you enjoy the show.
We've got a great podcast foryou today and at the end we're
introducing something new andspecial.
Stick around for Peter's rant.
We are very lucky to have on ourpodcast today Subha Ramanathan,
who is the manager of programsand partnerships for the Share
the Road Cycling Coalition inOntario, and the reason that
(00:51):
we're talking to her is that herorganization oversees an
amazing program called BikeFriendly Communities, which is
something that started in the USbutS but has been adopted
around Ontario and,interestingly, there's even a BC
community involved.
Subha, welcome to the program.
Thanks, peter.
(01:15):
Glad to be here.
Just before we get into thebike-friendly communities.
I'm going to be asking you whatdifference it makes and exactly
how it works and how thesecommunities enjoy and show off
their credentials that they getfrom your organization.
But I noticed you have abackground in public health and
you've done some work out at UBCwith the UBC researchers.
(01:37):
Tell us a bit about that.
Subha Ramanathan (01:39):
Yeah, so I actually did my master's at UBC
in exercise psychology and then,when I came to do my PhD in
public health, I started to lookat how built environments
affected the way that people arephysically active.
Physical activity has alwaysbeen a keen interest of mine and
(02:01):
I started to think about whatwe could do to encourage
populations to be physicallyactive.
Where you don't have to thinkabout being active, you're kind
of tricked into doing it withyour lifestyle and researchers
that I ended up working with DrsGuy Faulkner, who then moved to
UBC.
(02:22):
He started to create thisprogram that focused on children
and their physical activitylevels and the ways that they
got to and from school usingactive transportation and that,
of course, encompassed walking,cycling and other forms of
wheeling.
And we started to look at whatit is that motivates people to
(02:45):
choose active forms of wheeling.
And we started to look at whatit is that motivates people to
choose active forms oftransportation, and it turns out
that connections to nature andsocializing with other people on
the walk to school these areall integral components of being
active without realizing thatyou're being active.
And so that was my connectionto UBC and my introduction into
(03:10):
active transportation that thenled me to the Share the Road
Cycling Coalition.
Peter Ladner (03:16):
I love that.
What else do you do to beactive?
I presume you cycle.
Subha Ramanathan (03:21):
Yes, I cycle, but I also really enjoy over the
last few years Zoom classes.
I take quite a few fitnessclasses online.
I garden, I have a wonderfulproperty and vegetables and I've
been spending my time canningover the last few days.
(03:42):
I try to integrate physicalactivity into my day-to-day
happenings so that I don'tnecessarily have to dedicate
time for exercise.
Peter Ladner (03:53):
I love that.
And well, that leads us, ofcourse, to bike-friendly
communities, because when yourcommunity is bike-friendly, I
guess it just follows thatpeople are more inclined to, and
more likely to, cycle as a wayof just getting around, without
being avid cyclists in Lycrawith square jaws and long
(04:15):
training regiments on theweekends.
So, subha, tell me there's aninteresting backstory, before we
finally get into the topic athand about the Share the Road
Cycling Coalition, about how itstarted, and perhaps you can
sketch that out quickly, butalso tell us what Greg's Law is.
Subha Ramanathan (04:37):
Okay, so Share the Road Cycling Coalition was
founded by Eleanor McMahon,whose husband, Greg, was an
officer in the OntarioProvincial Police and he was
tragically killed in a trainingaccident when he was cycling on
the roads and he was struck by atruck.
(04:59):
And it turned out that thedriver of this truck had a few
violations, but the penaltiesfor these violations were not as
severe as they could have been.
And so it turns out if we hadmore stringent laws in place,
(05:21):
then this accident could havebeen prevented.
In place, then this accidentcould have been prevented.
And so Greg's law captures thespirit of that, and Eleanor had
gone through several means ofadvocating for more stringent
penalties for violations driverviolations so that this is drunk
(05:45):
driving you're talking about.
It wasn't drunk driving, I think.
There were a few speedingviolations and careless driving
violations, and so now there aremore stringent penalties if
there are violations in place.
Peter Ladner (06:02):
Well, let's move on to Thank you.
That's a tragic but fascinatingstory and somewhat relevant
with the recent deaths of JohnnyGoudreau and his brother, the
hockey players hit by a drunkendriver while they were out
cycling and killed.
Thank you, bike-friendlycommunities.
Ranks communities according totheir cycling infrastructure.
(06:24):
That's my rough take of it, butyou now have how many
communities in Ontario involvedin this and what do they have to
do and what happens when theyget involved?
Subha Ramanathan (06:38):
We have 52 communities in Ontario involved
in the Bicycle FriendlyCommunities Program, and it
isn't just infrastructure.
We talk about the five E's thatneed to be in place in order to
show that you are bicyclefriendly, and that includes
engineering.
So that's the infrastructureyou mentioned.
(06:58):
But then there also needs to beeducational programs in place,
and that includes cycling skillstraining for all ages,
knowledge of the rules of theroad, encouragement that
includes signature events, mapsfor cyclists, programs and
services available for cyclists,evaluation and planning.
(07:22):
So the committees that are inplace looking at active
transportation in yourmunicipality, funding mechanisms
and the stability of thosefunding mechanisms and how your
cycling infrastructure is beingmonitored, usage monitored and
roadways being built.
And then, finally, the newest Ethat was added last year by the
(07:46):
League of American Bicyclistsis equity and accessibility.
So what efforts are you takingas a community to reach new
audiences to foster cycling?
Peter Ladner (08:00):
I love that this methodology was worked out over
the years by this WashingtonDC-based organization and it's
now used, I believe, in thestates of Washington and Oregon
and elsewhere in the US, well,right across the US, and that
nobody has to invent anythinghere.
You just have to plug and play.
But it's not that easy.
It looks to me to get involved.
(08:22):
But it's not that easy, itlooks to me, to get involved If
you are a community and youthink, oh, I'd like to get.
Well, what can you get?
First of all, you getdesignated.
What are the designations?
Subha Ramanathan (08:32):
There are designations from bronze through
to platinum.
We don't yet have a platinummunicipality in Ontario or in
Canada, but there are fivemunicipalities in the US that
(09:06):
have reached this platinumachievement.
Engaged staff, more people onthe road cycling, more programs
available, more efforts to makecycling a viable transportation
option, so not just arecreational option, as you
mentioned the folks in the Lycrathat are on their bikes, but
also the people who just need toget to the corner store, and
they have the option to do so bybike.
Peter Ladner (09:22):
So what happens when a municipality goes into
this program and say they get agold standard?
I understand they get a highwaysign.
They can put up your when youapproach the highway, the town,
by vehicle, I guess, of any kind.
But what does it do to thepeople in the community?
(09:44):
Do they get excited about it?
Do they compete and get worriedif they don't measure up to
their neighboring community?
Subha Ramanathan (09:51):
Absolutely.
Municipalities are quiteinvested in this process.
It takes quite a long time togather the data that goes into
the application form, andsuccesses are celebrated.
There's often a press releasewith the presence of the mayor.
Some municipalities willorganize a ride that the mayor
takes part in, which reallyshows support all the way to the
(10:15):
top of the governmentstructures.
And so communities want to bragand say, hey, we are a bronze
community or a silver communityor a gold community, and every
rank achieves a road sign.
So you don't have to simply bea gold community.
Even bronze communities willreceive one road sign from the
(10:36):
Share the Road Cycling Coalitionand the option to purchase
additional signs to display allaround to all the entrances into
the municipality.
Peter Ladner (10:46):
Now I notice there's almost like a
participation ribbon here youcan get an honorable mention,
and there was one municipalityin BC that was on your list Port
Alberni got an honorablemention.
How did they get involved, doyou know?
Subha Ramanathan (11:01):
A few years ago, we thought of expanding our
bicycle-friendly communitiesprogram across Canada, and we
wanted to see how the standardsmight follow in municipalities
that have slightly differentlaws than we do in Ontario and
(11:23):
slightly differentconsiderations political
structures and so the programwas available for anyone to
apply.
Though we didn't necessarilyreach out to local organizations
to share information about theBFC program, we did make the
program available across Canada,and Port Alberni had applied,
(11:47):
and they had many of thebuilding blocks in place.
They had a team of staffmembers dedicated to active
transportation.
They had some data collectionbeing synthesized on a regular
basis.
I think what we had noticed isthat there were certain aspects,
(12:11):
like the educational programs,that could use a little bit more
strengthening and more stablefunding mechanisms in place, and
so we provided them with afeedback report highlighting
some of their strengths andshowing the ways that they can
build towards becoming a bronzemunicipality, and so that's
(12:33):
another benefit of being in theprogram that you get feedback.
You're not just filling out anapplication, you also have a
team of experts that are goingto.
Peter Ladner (12:48):
I love that feedback thing.
It's almost like a consultingservice.
Now, what if there were anothercommunity in BC that wanted to
do this?
Are you open to spreading thisaround the country or, do you
like in Quebec?
Do you expect the provinces toeach have their own initiatives?
Subha Ramanathan (13:14):
initiatives.
Well, I think for now we are.
We're certainly open.
We just created a newapplication form that is
identical to what they havedistributed in the US.
In the past we had adaptedversions for Ontario, but in the
most recent version that wasreleased, the 2024 application,
it's now identical to what theyare issuing in the US, and so we
(13:35):
do have the ability to haveOntario or Share the Road
oversee the program for all ofCanada.
We're trying to ramp up ourinternal resources to be able to
do that, but I do think that,as time is going on and there
are technologies in place thatcan assist us in administering a
(13:59):
program widely with limitedresources, I think that Share
the Road will soon be in aposition to oversee work across
Canada.
Peter Ladner (14:13):
So if a British Columbia municipality wanted to
get involved, they could just goto your website, download the
form and do the work Absolutely.
Subha Ramanathan (14:21):
Is that?
Peter Ladner (14:21):
correct and then they would get.
Would they get the highway signand the certificate on the
press release and all of that?
Subha Ramanathan (14:27):
Yes, feedback Okay the whole shebang yes.
Feedback, the whole shebang.
Anybody who applies has accessto the feedback report from the
expert judges.
One highway sign, a digitalaward icon that can be put on
their websites or shared throughsocial media and, if they would
(14:47):
like to, they also receive adiscounted registration to come
and attend our Ontario BikeSummit that we run every year.
Peter Ladner (14:55):
Well, maybe we could work a deal for them to
attend a BC.
We did our own ActiveTransportation Summit recently
and we'll no doubt do that again.
But that's wonderful to hearthat.
I'm impressed and surprisedthat we could be getting
involved.
But it's not that easy right.
How long does it take?
I mean, you mentioned some ofthe pieces that were in place in
(15:18):
Port Alberni, but you've got toget a task force together and
the municipal staff on board.
Could you just run us throughwhat it would take for a
municipality to do this?
Sure To apply.
Subha Ramanathan (15:31):
Absolutely.
It does take a bit of time tofill out the application.
As I mentioned, there are fivedistinct areas that we're
looking into, ranging fromengineering all the way to
equity and accessibility, andit's very unlikely that a single
municipal staff person has theknowledge across those five
areas, and so you really do needto get together the folks from
(15:55):
engineering, the folks who aredoing the educational programs,
student transportation services.
There's a wide range ofdepartments that need to talk to
each other about bicyclefriendliness and what they're
doing to move towards higherstandards of bicycle
friendliness and what they'redoing to move towards higher
(16:16):
standards of accessibility ofthe neighborhoods, and so we
want those teams to get togetherand discuss what they're doing,
share data about what they'redoing and fill out this
application form, and in mostcases, it takes several months I
would say three to four monthsto give justice to the
application form and givejustice to all the work that
(16:38):
you're doing, capture all thework that you're doing in a
single spot, and I think thatthis exercise is actually one of
the most important parts ofbecoming bicycle friendly
gathering everything in one area, celebrating your achievements
in one spot and having that asyour roadmap for the future.
Peter Ladner (16:58):
That makes a lot of sense.
Could you tell us about somespecific projects that have, say
, moved a city or community upfrom one level to the next city
or community up from one levelto the next?
I'll give you a clue.
(17:18):
I read on your website thatOttawa moved up to a gold level
One of three communities.
Is it Ottawa, toronto?
And who's the other one that'sthe gold one in Ontario?
Subha Ramanathan (17:25):
Waterloo.
Peter Ladner (17:27):
And Waterloo.
But Ottawa did they do car-freeSundays in their parkways and
they made that every weekendfrom May to October.
Is that, are they still doingthat?
Subha Ramanathan (17:37):
Is that a factor in their I'm not sure if
they are still doing that.
I think over the last few yearsa lot of these programs have
been put on hold.
Their gold designation wasachieved prior to the pandemic
and unfortunately, a lot ofthese public programs had to be
(17:57):
pulled on hold because ofresource constraints.
But I will say that havingachievements like a Car Free
Sunday, where you're able tolike a Car Free Sunday, where
you're able to designate publicspace for cyclists and
pedestrians and people onalternate forms of wheels, it
(18:19):
really does show the municipalsupport and also the public
support for having this, becausewe know that it's not just
about municipal staff puttingtogether events.
People need to show up for theevents.
There needs to be support onboth sides, and so a gold
(18:39):
community is distinct from asilver and a bronze by having
high levels of public supportfor cycling and walking and
wheeling, for cycling andwalking and wheeling.
Peter Ladner (18:53):
I noticed that in the American one they also have
a platinum and a diamond leveland you mentioned that there
were was it seven or somethinghigh ranking cities in the
States.
Can you name some of those?
Just maybe we want to go visitthem.
Subha Ramanathan (19:07):
Yes, so there's Madison, wisconsin.
That's the one that always popsinto my head first.
I'm trying to think of theother ones.
I don't have the US informationin my head.
Peter Ladner (19:20):
Is Eugene Oregon one of them.
Subha Ramanathan (19:22):
There are some in Oregon.
Peter Ladner (19:27):
Bend maybe.
Subha Ramanathan (19:27):
Anyway, we can look that up.
Peter Ladner (19:28):
We can look that up.
Speaking of looking things up,I know that the American Bike
League puts out a book calledtheir Idea Book which has case
studies from all these citiesand an interactive map.
You can go in and poke aroundand kind of get a feel for the
situation and anybody can lookthat up at bikeleagueorg slash
(19:54):
BFC Idea Book, that'sBike-Friendly Community Idea
Book.
So bikeleagueorg slash BFC IdeaBook.
And now going back to theCanadian program, your next
intake is very soon, I believe.
Subha Ramanathan (20:11):
Yes, our next deadline is October 11th 2024.
Peter Ladner (20:17):
So if a community in BC wanted to get involved,
that gives a lot of lead timefor the next one after that
would be October 2025?
.
Subha Ramanathan (20:26):
Yes, we're moving to once a year in October
once a year in October.
Peter Ladner (20:36):
So let me plant the seed to my millions of
podcast listeners that if yourcommunity wants to do this, now
would be a good time to startthinking about it.
Go and look into some of thesesources, download the
application form it has afrequently asked questions
section in there and take a runat a chance at a really nice
highway sign that calls you somekind of bronze, silver or gold
community and boasting rights.
(20:57):
Having been in municipalgovernment, I have to say, to go
back to the comparison thing,that yes, there's the
celebration aspect, but there'salso the bit of a shame slash
competitive catch-up thing where, hey, that neighboring
community got a bronze or gold,we only got a silver.
What do we have to do to catchup?
Keep up, and I kind of likethat because it is a motivating
(21:20):
factor and anything thatmotivates people to do more of
this is, in my mind, a goodthing.
Subha, I'm kind of done withquestions.
Is there anything you want toadd that you think the listeners
in BC should know?
Subha Ramanathan (21:37):
I do think that, ultimately, we're all
trying to work towards creatingmore livable communities and by
looking at bicycle friendliness,it also makes it more friendly
for people with various mobilitychallenges.
It makes it more friendly fornew parents with strollers.
(22:00):
There's many different types ofpeople that benefit from more
livable communities, more activebuilt environments, creating
our municipalities and roadways.
That helps us to get outsideand meet one another.
There are just so many benefitsto becoming more bicycle
(22:23):
friendly that I I almost thinkthat in the future it might be
renamed as active transportationcommunities or something Happy
cities.
Happy cities, yes, livablecities.
Peter Ladner (22:37):
We could package that little, those last few
comments of yours, and use themat the end of every one of our
podcasts, because, as we allknow, what we're trying to do is
a big, happy thing thateverybody wins if we get it
right.
So thank you so much for yourwork and sharing that
information with us so thatmaybe we can benefit from some
(22:57):
of these programs here inBritish Columbia.
Thanks, subha.
Subha Ramanathan (23:01):
Thank you.
Peter Ladner (23:05):
I wanted to share a very short rant with my
producer, Carmen Mills.
Carmen, I'm going to ask you doyou get bothered by, or notice
how many cyclists ride around atnight with no lights?
Carmen Mills (23:19):
Well, I might be one of them, so I try to be
gentle.
Well, I might be one of them, soI try to be gentle.
Peter Ladner (23:24):
The other day I was cycling around the
waterfront bikeway in Vancouverand half at least of the
cyclists approaching us had nolights.
Some of these places wereunlighted.
It was dangerous for me and Ican't figure out.
Do these people drive theircars around at night with no
lights on?
Would they even think of that?
(23:45):
And just to say that, when I'mriding at night with a good
light front and back, I feel waysafer than riding in the
daytime, because it's reallyclear that I'm there and I'm
really visible.
So, cyclists, a light is yoursafety weapon.
Use it and don't put othercyclists at jeopardy by riding
(24:05):
around with no lights, thinkingyou're cool and you don't need
to bother.
Carmen Mills (24:10):
Yeah, and I would say actually, if you want to go
minimal on that, my personalfeeling is the rear light is
even more important than thefront.
It's best to have both, butcyclists are more often
rear-ended.
So get a red flasher, a cheapone, even wire it onto the back
of the bike so you don't have toworry about it being stolen,
and that helps quite a lot.
Peter Ladner (24:31):
Oh, one more thing Riding with a light during the
day reduces your chance ofhaving an accident by I believe
it's 50%.
So get a good light, have it onall the time.
And if you're lucky enough tohave an e-bike, get it hooked up
so the light's on every timeyou start it up.
And finally, I have figured outsomething to say.
(24:54):
I get so angry and I don't wantto offend people, so I don't
want to say get a bike light.
I just say lights are good asI'm passing, so lights are good.
People, don't forget thatYou've been listening to Bike
Sense, an original podcast fromthe BC Cycling Coalition.
(25:16):
If you liked the podcast, we'dbe grateful if you could leave
us a rating.
On whatever platform you use,you can also subscribe so you
don't miss future episodes.
If you have comments orsuggestions for future episodes,
email me at peterladner atbccyclingca.
(25:37):
At bccyclingca, you can help usamplify BC Cycling Coalition's
voice by simply becoming a freemember at bccyclingca.
Welcome to Bike Sense, the BC Cycling
Coalition's podcast, where wetalk about all things related to
active transportation advocacyin BC.
I'm your host, peter Ladner,chair of the Board of the BC
Cycling Coalition.
I hope you enjoy the show ofthe board of the BC Cycling
(00:30):
Coalition.
I hope you enjoy the show.
We've got a great podcast foryou today and at the end we're
introducing something new andspecial.
Stick around for Peter's rant.
We are very lucky to have on ourpodcast today Subha Ramanathan,
who is the manager of programsand partnerships for the Share
the Road Cycling Coalition inOntario, and the reason that
(00:51):
we're talking to her is that herorganization oversees an
amazing program called BikeFriendly Communities, which is
something that started in the USbutS but has been adopted
around Ontario and,interestingly, there's even a BC
community involved.
Subha, welcome to the program.
Thanks, peter.
(01:15):
Glad to be here.
Just before we get into thebike-friendly communities.
I'm going to be asking you whatdifference it makes and exactly
how it works and how thesecommunities enjoy and show off
their credentials that they getfrom your organization.
But I noticed you have abackground in public health and
you've done some work out at UBCwith the UBC researchers.
(01:37):
Tell us a bit about that.
Subha Ramanathan (01:39):
Yeah, so I actually did my master's at UBC
in exercise psychology and then,when I came to do my PhD in
public health, I started to lookat how built environments
affected the way that people arephysically active.
Physical activity has alwaysbeen a keen interest of mine and
(02:01):
I started to think about whatwe could do to encourage
populations to be physicallyactive.
Where you don't have to thinkabout being active, you're kind
of tricked into doing it withyour lifestyle and researchers
that I ended up working with DrsGuy Faulkner, who then moved to
UBC.
(02:22):
He started to create thisprogram that focused on children
and their physical activitylevels and the ways that they
got to and from school usingactive transportation and that,
of course, encompassed walking,cycling and other forms of
wheeling.
And we started to look at whatit is that motivates people to
(02:45):
choose active forms of wheeling.
And we started to look at whatit is that motivates people to
choose active forms oftransportation, and it turns out
that connections to nature andsocializing with other people on
the walk to school these areall integral components of being
active without realizing thatyou're being active.
And so that was my connectionto UBC and my introduction into
(03:10):
active transportation that thenled me to the Share the Road
Cycling Coalition.
Peter Ladner (03:16):
I love that.
What else do you do to beactive?
I presume you cycle.
Subha Ramanathan (03:21):
Yes, I cycle, but I also really enjoy over the
last few years Zoom classes.
I take quite a few fitnessclasses online.
I garden, I have a wonderfulproperty and vegetables and I've
been spending my time canningover the last few days.
(03:42):
I try to integrate physicalactivity into my day-to-day
happenings so that I don'tnecessarily have to dedicate
time for exercise.
Peter Ladner (03:53):
I love that.
And well, that leads us, ofcourse, to bike-friendly
communities, because when yourcommunity is bike-friendly, I
guess it just follows thatpeople are more inclined to, and
more likely to, cycle as a wayof just getting around, without
being avid cyclists in Lycrawith square jaws and long
(04:15):
training regiments on theweekends.
So, subha, tell me there's aninteresting backstory, before we
finally get into the topic athand about the Share the Road
Cycling Coalition, about how itstarted, and perhaps you can
sketch that out quickly, butalso tell us what Greg's Law is.
Subha Ramanathan (04:37):
Okay, so Share the Road Cycling Coalition was
founded by Eleanor McMahon,whose husband, Greg, was an
officer in the OntarioProvincial Police and he was
tragically killed in a trainingaccident when he was cycling on
the roads and he was struck by atruck.
(04:59):
And it turned out that thedriver of this truck had a few
violations, but the penaltiesfor these violations were not as
severe as they could have been.
And so it turns out if we hadmore stringent laws in place,
(05:21):
then this accident could havebeen prevented.
In place, then this accidentcould have been prevented.
And so Greg's law captures thespirit of that, and Eleanor had
gone through several means ofadvocating for more stringent
penalties for violations driverviolations so that this is drunk
(05:45):
driving you're talking about.
It wasn't drunk driving, I think.
There were a few speedingviolations and careless driving
violations, and so now there aremore stringent penalties if
there are violations in place.
Peter Ladner (06:02):
Well, let's move on to Thank you.
That's a tragic but fascinatingstory and somewhat relevant
with the recent deaths of JohnnyGoudreau and his brother, the
hockey players hit by a drunkendriver while they were out
cycling and killed.
Thank you, bike-friendlycommunities.
Ranks communities according totheir cycling infrastructure.
(06:24):
That's my rough take of it, butyou now have how many
communities in Ontario involvedin this and what do they have to
do and what happens when theyget involved?
Subha Ramanathan (06:38):
We have 52 communities in Ontario involved
in the Bicycle FriendlyCommunities Program, and it
isn't just infrastructure.
We talk about the five E's thatneed to be in place in order to
show that you are bicyclefriendly, and that includes
engineering.
So that's the infrastructureyou mentioned.
(06:58):
But then there also needs to beeducational programs in place,
and that includes cycling skillstraining for all ages,
knowledge of the rules of theroad, encouragement that
includes signature events, mapsfor cyclists, programs and
services available for cyclists,evaluation and planning.
(07:22):
So the committees that are inplace looking at active
transportation in yourmunicipality, funding mechanisms
and the stability of thosefunding mechanisms and how your
cycling infrastructure is beingmonitored, usage monitored and
roadways being built.
And then, finally, the newest Ethat was added last year by the
(07:46):
League of American Bicyclistsis equity and accessibility.
So what efforts are you takingas a community to reach new
audiences to foster cycling?
Peter Ladner (08:00):
I love that this methodology was worked out over
the years by this WashingtonDC-based organization and it's
now used, I believe, in thestates of Washington and Oregon
and elsewhere in the US, well,right across the US, and that
nobody has to invent anythinghere.
You just have to plug and play.
But it's not that easy.
It looks to me to get involved.
(08:22):
But it's not that easy, itlooks to me, to get involved If
you are a community and youthink, oh, I'd like to get.
Well, what can you get?
First of all, you getdesignated.
What are the designations?
Subha Ramanathan (08:32):
There are designations from bronze through
to platinum.
We don't yet have a platinummunicipality in Ontario or in
Canada, but there are fivemunicipalities in the US that
(09:06):
have reached this platinumachievement.
Engaged staff, more people onthe road cycling, more programs
available, more efforts to makecycling a viable transportation
option, so not just arecreational option, as you
mentioned the folks in the Lycrathat are on their bikes, but
also the people who just need toget to the corner store, and
they have the option to do so bybike.
Peter Ladner (09:22):
So what happens when a municipality goes into
this program and say they get agold standard?
I understand they get a highwaysign.
They can put up your when youapproach the highway, the town,
by vehicle, I guess, of any kind.
But what does it do to thepeople in the community?
(09:44):
Do they get excited about it?
Do they compete and get worriedif they don't measure up to
their neighboring community?
Subha Ramanathan (09:51):
Absolutely.
Municipalities are quiteinvested in this process.
It takes quite a long time togather the data that goes into
the application form, andsuccesses are celebrated.
There's often a press releasewith the presence of the mayor.
Some municipalities willorganize a ride that the mayor
takes part in, which reallyshows support all the way to the
(10:15):
top of the governmentstructures.
And so communities want to bragand say, hey, we are a bronze
community or a silver communityor a gold community, and every
rank achieves a road sign.
So you don't have to simply bea gold community.
Even bronze communities willreceive one road sign from the
(10:36):
Share the Road Cycling Coalitionand the option to purchase
additional signs to display allaround to all the entrances into
the municipality.
Peter Ladner (10:46):
Now I notice there's almost like a
participation ribbon here youcan get an honorable mention,
and there was one municipalityin BC that was on your list Port
Alberni got an honorablemention.
How did they get involved, doyou know?
Subha Ramanathan (11:01):
A few years ago, we thought of expanding our
bicycle-friendly communitiesprogram across Canada, and we
wanted to see how the standardsmight follow in municipalities
that have slightly differentlaws than we do in Ontario and
(11:23):
slightly differentconsiderations political
structures and so the programwas available for anyone to
apply.
Though we didn't necessarilyreach out to local organizations
to share information about theBFC program, we did make the
program available across Canada,and Port Alberni had applied,
(11:47):
and they had many of thebuilding blocks in place.
They had a team of staffmembers dedicated to active
transportation.
They had some data collectionbeing synthesized on a regular
basis.
I think what we had noticed isthat there were certain aspects,
(12:11):
like the educational programs,that could use a little bit more
strengthening and more stablefunding mechanisms in place, and
so we provided them with afeedback report highlighting
some of their strengths andshowing the ways that they can
build towards becoming a bronzemunicipality, and so that's
(12:33):
another benefit of being in theprogram that you get feedback.
You're not just filling out anapplication, you also have a
team of experts that are goingto.
Peter Ladner (12:48):
I love that feedback thing.
It's almost like a consultingservice.
Now, what if there were anothercommunity in BC that wanted to
do this?
Are you open to spreading thisaround the country or, do you
like in Quebec?
Do you expect the provinces toeach have their own initiatives?
Subha Ramanathan (13:14):
initiatives.
Well, I think for now we are.
We're certainly open.
We just created a newapplication form that is
identical to what they havedistributed in the US.
In the past we had adaptedversions for Ontario, but in the
most recent version that wasreleased, the 2024 application,
it's now identical to what theyare issuing in the US, and so we
(13:35):
do have the ability to haveOntario or Share the Road
oversee the program for all ofCanada.
We're trying to ramp up ourinternal resources to be able to
do that, but I do think that,as time is going on and there
are technologies in place thatcan assist us in administering a
(13:59):
program widely with limitedresources, I think that Share
the Road will soon be in aposition to oversee work across
Canada.
Peter Ladner (14:13):
So if a British Columbia municipality wanted to
get involved, they could just goto your website, download the
form and do the work Absolutely.
Subha Ramanathan (14:21):
Is that?
Peter Ladner (14:21):
correct and then they would get.
Would they get the highway signand the certificate on the
press release and all of that?
Subha Ramanathan (14:27):
Yes, feedback Okay the whole shebang yes.
Feedback, the whole shebang.
Anybody who applies has accessto the feedback report from the
expert judges.
One highway sign, a digitalaward icon that can be put on
their websites or shared throughsocial media and, if they would
(14:47):
like to, they also receive adiscounted registration to come
and attend our Ontario BikeSummit that we run every year.
Peter Ladner (14:55):
Well, maybe we could work a deal for them to
attend a BC.
We did our own ActiveTransportation Summit recently
and we'll no doubt do that again.
But that's wonderful to hearthat.
I'm impressed and surprisedthat we could be getting
involved.
But it's not that easy right.
How long does it take?
I mean, you mentioned some ofthe pieces that were in place in
(15:18):
Port Alberni, but you've got toget a task force together and
the municipal staff on board.
Could you just run us throughwhat it would take for a
municipality to do this?
Sure To apply.
Subha Ramanathan (15:31):
Absolutely.
It does take a bit of time tofill out the application.
As I mentioned, there are fivedistinct areas that we're
looking into, ranging fromengineering all the way to
equity and accessibility, andit's very unlikely that a single
municipal staff person has theknowledge across those five
areas, and so you really do needto get together the folks from
(15:55):
engineering, the folks who aredoing the educational programs,
student transportation services.
There's a wide range ofdepartments that need to talk to
each other about bicyclefriendliness and what they're
doing to move towards higherstandards of bicycle
friendliness and what they'redoing to move towards higher
(16:16):
standards of accessibility ofthe neighborhoods, and so we
want those teams to get togetherand discuss what they're doing,
share data about what they'redoing and fill out this
application form, and in mostcases, it takes several months I
would say three to four monthsto give justice to the
application form and givejustice to all the work that
(16:38):
you're doing, capture all thework that you're doing in a
single spot, and I think thatthis exercise is actually one of
the most important parts ofbecoming bicycle friendly
gathering everything in one area, celebrating your achievements
in one spot and having that asyour roadmap for the future.
Peter Ladner (16:58):
That makes a lot of sense.
Could you tell us about somespecific projects that have, say
, moved a city or community upfrom one level to the next city
or community up from one levelto the next?
I'll give you a clue.
(17:18):
I read on your website thatOttawa moved up to a gold level
One of three communities.
Is it Ottawa, toronto?
And who's the other one that'sthe gold one in Ontario?
Subha Ramanathan (17:25):
Waterloo.
Peter Ladner (17:27):
And Waterloo.
But Ottawa did they do car-freeSundays in their parkways and
they made that every weekendfrom May to October.
Is that, are they still doingthat?
Subha Ramanathan (17:37):
Is that a factor in their I'm not sure if
they are still doing that.
I think over the last few yearsa lot of these programs have
been put on hold.
Their gold designation wasachieved prior to the pandemic
and unfortunately, a lot ofthese public programs had to be
(17:57):
pulled on hold because ofresource constraints.
But I will say that havingachievements like a Car Free
Sunday, where you're able tolike a Car Free Sunday, where
you're able to designate publicspace for cyclists and
pedestrians and people onalternate forms of wheels, it
(18:19):
really does show the municipalsupport and also the public
support for having this, becausewe know that it's not just
about municipal staff puttingtogether events.
People need to show up for theevents.
There needs to be support onboth sides, and so a gold
(18:39):
community is distinct from asilver and a bronze by having
high levels of public supportfor cycling and walking and
wheeling, for cycling andwalking and wheeling.
Peter Ladner (18:53):
I noticed that in the American one they also have
a platinum and a diamond leveland you mentioned that there
were was it seven or somethinghigh ranking cities in the
States.
Can you name some of those?
Just maybe we want to go visitthem.
Subha Ramanathan (19:07):
Yes, so there's Madison, wisconsin.
That's the one that always popsinto my head first.
I'm trying to think of theother ones.
I don't have the US informationin my head.
Peter Ladner (19:20):
Is Eugene Oregon one of them.
Subha Ramanathan (19:22):
There are some in Oregon.
Peter Ladner (19:27):
Bend maybe.
Subha Ramanathan (19:27):
Anyway, we can look that up.
Peter Ladner (19:28):
We can look that up.
Speaking of looking things up,I know that the American Bike
League puts out a book calledtheir Idea Book which has case
studies from all these citiesand an interactive map.
You can go in and poke aroundand kind of get a feel for the
situation and anybody can lookthat up at bikeleagueorg slash
(19:54):
BFC Idea Book, that'sBike-Friendly Community Idea
Book.
So bikeleagueorg slash BFC IdeaBook.
And now going back to theCanadian program, your next
intake is very soon, I believe.
Subha Ramanathan (20:11):
Yes, our next deadline is October 11th 2024.
Peter Ladner (20:17):
So if a community in BC wanted to get involved,
that gives a lot of lead timefor the next one after that
would be October 2025?
.
Subha Ramanathan (20:26):
Yes, we're moving to once a year in October
once a year in October.
Peter Ladner (20:36):
So let me plant the seed to my millions of
podcast listeners that if yourcommunity wants to do this, now
would be a good time to startthinking about it.
Go and look into some of thesesources, download the
application form it has afrequently asked questions
section in there and take a runat a chance at a really nice
highway sign that calls you somekind of bronze, silver or gold
community and boasting rights.
(20:57):
Having been in municipalgovernment, I have to say, to go
back to the comparison thing,that yes, there's the
celebration aspect, but there'salso the bit of a shame slash
competitive catch-up thing where, hey, that neighboring
community got a bronze or gold,we only got a silver.
What do we have to do to catchup?
Keep up, and I kind of likethat because it is a motivating
(21:20):
factor and anything thatmotivates people to do more of
this is, in my mind, a goodthing.
Subha, I'm kind of done withquestions.
Is there anything you want toadd that you think the listeners
in BC should know?
Subha Ramanathan (21:37):
I do think that, ultimately, we're all
trying to work towards creatingmore livable communities and by
looking at bicycle friendliness,it also makes it more friendly
for people with various mobilitychallenges.
It makes it more friendly fornew parents with strollers.
(22:00):
There's many different types ofpeople that benefit from more
livable communities, more activebuilt environments, creating
our municipalities and roadways.
That helps us to get outsideand meet one another.
There are just so many benefitsto becoming more bicycle
(22:23):
friendly that I I almost thinkthat in the future it might be
renamed as active transportationcommunities or something Happy
cities.
Happy cities, yes, livablecities.
Peter Ladner (22:37):
We could package that little, those last few
comments of yours, and use themat the end of every one of our
podcasts, because, as we allknow, what we're trying to do is
a big, happy thing thateverybody wins if we get it
right.
So thank you so much for yourwork and sharing that
information with us so thatmaybe we can benefit from some
(22:57):
of these programs here inBritish Columbia.
Thanks, subha.
Subha Ramanathan (23:01):
Thank you.
Peter Ladner (23:05):
I wanted to share a very short rant with my
producer, Carmen Mills.
Carmen, I'm going to ask you doyou get bothered by, or notice
how many cyclists ride around atnight with no lights?
Carmen Mills (23:19):
Well, I might be one of them, so I try to be
gentle.
Well, I might be one of them, soI try to be gentle.
Peter Ladner (23:24):
The other day I was cycling around the
waterfront bikeway in Vancouverand half at least of the
cyclists approaching us had nolights.
Some of these places wereunlighted.
It was dangerous for me and Ican't figure out.
Do these people drive theircars around at night with no
lights on?
Would they even think of that?
(23:45):
And just to say that, when I'mriding at night with a good
light front and back, I feel waysafer than riding in the
daytime, because it's reallyclear that I'm there and I'm
really visible.
So, cyclists, a light is yoursafety weapon.
Use it and don't put othercyclists at jeopardy by riding
(24:05):
around with no lights, thinkingyou're cool and you don't need
to bother.
Carmen Mills (24:10):
Yeah, and I would say actually, if you want to go
minimal on that, my personalfeeling is the rear light is
even more important than thefront.
It's best to have both, butcyclists are more often
rear-ended.
So get a red flasher, a cheapone, even wire it onto the back
of the bike so you don't have toworry about it being stolen,
and that helps quite a lot.
Peter Ladner (24:31):
Oh, one more thing Riding with a light during the
day reduces your chance ofhaving an accident by I believe
it's 50%.
So get a good light, have it onall the time.
And if you're lucky enough tohave an e-bike, get it hooked up
so the light's on every timeyou start it up.
And finally, I have figured outsomething to say.
(24:54):
I get so angry and I don't wantto offend people, so I don't
want to say get a bike light.
I just say lights are good asI'm passing, so lights are good.
People, don't forget thatYou've been listening to Bike
Sense, an original podcast fromthe BC Cycling Coalition.
(25:16):
If you liked the podcast, we'dbe grateful if you could leave
us a rating.
On whatever platform you use,you can also subscribe so you
don't miss future episodes.
If you have comments orsuggestions for future episodes,
email me at peterladner atbccyclingca.
(25:37):
At bccyclingca, you can help usamplify BC Cycling Coalition's
voice by simply becoming a freemember at bccyclingca.
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