Type of town you live in

[gerv]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"

My reasoning is that the town I live in (Des Moines, Iowa) has an older population, awful bus transportation although the actual layout of the town is pretty bike friendly. 30 miles from here is Ames, a smaller town with a large college, much better bus transportation and a similar street layout. In Ames, you see a lot more folks biking for transportation and quite likely many of them are car-free since studying or working on campus is not that convenient with a car. In fact, buses are free for students and car parking is a major hassle.

What's other factors play into a better "biking for transportation" city?

[Artkansas]

Well, technically Little Rock is a University town. The streets are roughly on the grid plan, but the buses are bad. I don't think you took topography into account though or street conditions.

Even near the university I don't see many people on bicycle. The only big bicycling place is down by the river. Everybody drives there, takes a bike ride and drives back home.

But the streets are narrow, hilly and in bad shape. So I don't blame them.

I don't think that grid versus crescent has much influence. I think a bigger factor is the condition of the roads and how much room is allowed for bikes.

[wheel]

University indeed. Tempe creates good transportation and infastructure to promote the University.

Grid city nope. Phoenix has bike BLVDS which make for some of the best cycling I have seen. Unless you want to go shopping. One positive thing is I never buy anything. Our bicycle cordinator for 1.5 million people does not even cycle himself and is a second job title which he puts behind a traffic engineer.

Density Yes New York city.

I belive the public dictates how well carfree the city will be. Like a rolling snowball.

[wahoonc]

What does Minneapolis-Saint Paul qualify as?:D I spent a couple of days riding up there this past September and was amazed at the sheer number and types of cyclists, as well as the available facilities. We rode from New Brighton/Roseville area, into the downtown area of Minneapolis, along the river, into Saint Pauls, then over the Menedota Bridge, Fort Snelling, Minnehaha Falls and back, never hit what I would consider to be excessive vehicular traffic and a good bit of the ride was on MUP or dedicated bike lanes. BTW we rode the 42 miles on 3 speeds :p I would consider moving there if it wasn't for the average tempature in January being 3:eek:
I agree in principle that a college town is likely to have a better cycling facilities, but I think there are many other factors that come into play too.

Aaron:)

[AlanK]

* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"
...
What's other factors play into a better "biking for transportation" city?

I would say the first two are certainly pertinent factors, but the third is more variable. In Seattle (where I live) and Portland, two of the most bike friendly cities in the US, the streets are quite variable. And while Seattle's public transit isn't great, it's still supposedly among the best in the western US. I think university towns are bike friendly primarily for economic reason - most students don't have much disposable income, and bicycling makes practical sense.

There's also the less quantifiable factor of culture. Cities like Portland, Seattle, San Fran, and Minneapolis have many environmentally conscientious residents who bike for this reason (and also excercise).

[gerv]

I don't think that grid versus crescent has much influence. I think a bigger factor is the condition of the roads and how much room is allowed for bikes.

In this part of the world, the roads are pretty good -- flat and pavement is recent. However, no bike lanes on major thoroughfares. What that means for folks who live in some "crescent shaped" suburbs is that the only way from A to B is to head for the nearest major, busy, 50mph street. Which is a major minus for a new commuter or utility cyclist.

With a grid layout, you can select less-travelled streets. You may select a route that is a little longer than the busy avenues, but it gets you somewhere nonetheless. In the older part of Des Moines, you can get almost anywhere in the city without using the busy, bike-unfriendly streets.

Of course, none of this is of any use if no one uses a bike for transportation. This is the problem in Des Moines. You will see many, many recreational riders in April, May, June, July, but when the RAGBRAI event ends in July, cyclists are rare.

Like Little Rock, everyone seems to view the bicycle as a great Sunday afternoon drive. No concept of going from A to B with a bike. No... that's what you have the car for...

[gerv]

There's also the less quantifiable factor of culture. Cities like Portland, Seattle, San Fran, and Minneapolis have many environmentally conscientious residents who bike for this reason (and also excercise).

Alan, that's probably the biggest factor. As global warming continues to be self-evident, I think we'll see more of this culture in other cities. The price of gasoline might be another factor too.

[wahoonc]

I will qualify that the town I ride most in is very small and laid out on a grid, no mass transit, no college, no bike shop...:rolleyes: but is very easy to get around by bike in. It takes all of 15 minutes to go from one end of town to the other and from side to side. IRIC it is only about 12 square miles.:p Relatively flat too.

Aaron:)

[Roody]

I agree with gerv's criteria. I would add that mixed use development makes for good carfree living--jobs, schools, homes and shopping in the same area, or very close. Denser populations make for easier cycling/walking, since things tend to be closer together. In other words, whatever is the opposite of typical American sprawl is the better place for being carfree, IMO.

I think that climate and topography (other than true extremes) are secondary, since humans, like rats and cockroaches, can easily adapt to almost anything. Someday there will probably be bicycles on Mars!

[PaulH]

I think the key factor is the relative ease of driving. If cycling is easier than driving, people will ride. Otherwise, they won't.

Paul

[Roody]

I think the key factor is the relative ease of driving. If cycling is harder than driving, people will ride. Otherwise, they won't.

Paul
Does this need an edit, or am I reading it wrong? Shouldn't cycling be easier than driving?

[dee-vee]

I live in a college town. The bus system is ok I guess but I haven't used it much. Town is totally flat and is bike friendly. There are lots of bike shops here.

[JeffS]

Raleigh NC has multiple colleges but I wouldn't consider it a "college town". Only downtown and the very oldest neighborhoods are gridded. Everything else is a star pattern.

The busses typically run in a star pattern meaning a trip downtown and a transfer if you want to get anywhere off that straight line. Light rail has been hyped for years, but went nowhere due to poor planning and general opposition from the suburbanites.

The newest 4+ lane road construction is utilizing a wider right lane. No bike lanes to be found, and no commutable trails. The lanes on many of the main arteries have had their lanes narrowed to insert additional lanes (turning 5 lanes into 7 for instance). On some of them, they have paved over the concrete curbing to use that space as a lane. When this is done, the sewer grates are usually left at their original height, meaning they're recessed from the asphault.

The secondary streets are typically residential and are not suitable for commuting because of their random nature.

Downtown has been undergoing a condo boom lately, but prices are $350ish sq/ft, and with no infrastructure (grocery stores, etc) there, it's not exactly the ideal urban location. My current location in a nice neighborhood about 10 miles from center is only $150ish sq/ft. Like so many others, it's hard to convince myself that it makes financial sense. It would be different in a larger town with more downtown development - retail and transit.

I might possibly be in the worst location to be thinking about going car-free (or car-lite since my wife will still own one), although I still plan to attempt it this year. I have identified one location, about 2 miles from my office that contains my gym, grocery, restaurants, and some shopping. Unfortunately, it's not a kid friendly location and with a baby on the way it will require some thought.

To give you an idea, I started bike commuting about 4 months ago (10.5 miles each way) and I've seen exactly five other commuters ever (and only once each). Not exactly a cycling mecca.

[Roody]

My metro area holds about 250,000 souls. Overall, it's a pretty rough industrial city. I live near the center of the largest city in the area. I'm about 4 miles from a fairly large university, but it's a whole different world over here! My city has a grid street plan, and I would describe it as medium density population. The bus system is fair, except that it doesn't run enough late at night and on weekends. There isn't a lot of bike culture here. There are many utility riders, but they don't seem to be involved with bike lore, if you know what I mean. There is Critical Mass and some radical cyclists at the university. There's also a very active club for the more bourgeois riders.

I do a lot of riding on side streets, although I do ride on busy streets as needed. I also take a lot of shortcuts on trails and singletracks. I live 3 minutes (by bike of course) from a large supermarket, and within 20 minutes of lots of stores. Work is 17 minutes away. I was very careful when I moved the last time to find the "perfect" location for being carfree. It really isn't much of a city, but I love it and I doubt if I'll ever leave.

[bmclaughlin807]

I live in the outskirts of Denver. Right on the edge between Lakewood and Golden. The 'grid' network of streets has broken down before before you get out this far, but I haven't had much trouble. I live about 2 miles from the nearest grocery store. The ONE thing I'd like would be a convenience store that was close... The nearest is nearly to the grocery store.

The bus system is pretty good here, but I rarely take it. I do live about 3/4 mile from a transfer center/ Park 'n Ride.

[wahoonc]

Jeffs,
I agree with your assessment of Raleigh, especially the downtown area. I sometimes wonder about these developers when the come into a downtown area with their high priced condos and don't provide true mixed use, like grocery stores. In that area all the big retail is on the outskirts or off of major arterial roads not readily accessible to cyclists. I have found Greensboro to be a bit more cyclist friendly with the one saving grace being a MUP/greenway that runs thru the center of the city proper.

Aaron:)

[The Human Car]

I should note that Baltimore has a decent sized car-free and car-light population but our bus system stinks (one of the worst in the country for a metro area.) It’s also interesting to note that areas that have larger concentrations of biking also include alternate routes (not always a grid but at the same time do not force everyone on one road for any kind of trip.) In contrast with the DC metro area biking seems to flourish along the (metro) rail lines and trails that interconnect and does not seem as dependent on the road system being a grid or having alternate routes.

One common thread that I have noticed that transportation mode choice seems to be very dependent on time. People are more likely to use alternate transportation if the can get to work in a half hour and somewhat likely if they can get to work in an hour. And the selection of biking as a choice is dependent on if other people are doing it which is mostly dependent of some significant bike facility nearby that can be biked to or a general economic situation such as around collages.

[Artkansas]

I think that climate and topography (other than true extremes) are secondary, since humans, like rats and cockroaches, can easily adapt to almost anything. Someday there will probably be bicycles on Mars!

Psychologically I think both of those put a lot of people off. Near Palm Springs people thought I was crazy to ride in the summer. The terrain was mostly flat with the occasional small sand dune or a several thousand foot climb. I didn't see too many people ever attempt the big climbs.

Here in Arkansas, in West Little Rock, its nothing but 50-100 foot hills. Bicycle commuters are as rare as hen's teeth. Yes, people can adapt, but you'd be surprised at what a minor barrier most people will allow to keep them in the car.

[nasiralpharia]

JeffS, I agree with everything you said about raliegh. I lived near nc state for a year, and I found that certain roads like western blvd in particular, were a nightmare to use getting downtown by bike. I was just trying to be car-lite and I found it hard. Now I live in south durham, and I find that it is much easier. For one thing, the American Tobbaco trail runs through durham, and they have bike lanes in other places. I see many, many more cyclists in durham, although I cannot tell if they are commuters. Downtown durham actually has grocery stores too. Durham seems to have more bus service then raleigh, but I have never actually ridden on it to comment. I wish they would get this light rail system, so then I could ride to raleigh when I had too.

If I ever move though, I will look for a city with more public transportation options, at least some kind of light rail and decent bus systems.

[Poguemahone]

RVA is a poxy mess. Once you get out of a few areas-- VCU and Northside come to mind (there are three regular bike commuters on my block in Northside alone!) there's not much bike use, as the city is sprawling, the outlying counties don't want to be connected into a metro area mass transit system (so there aren't many buses outside of Richmond central). Downtown has a few nasty hills (though they're easy enough).

But I suspect even if all three of your criteria were met, most folks would insist on driving everywhere.

[Lamplight]

My town has a little of both. We have a university and the older, central areas of town are quite nice for riding. But the farther out you go the more my town becomes your typical car-only suburban nightmare. You can guess which areas I frequent the most. :p

[Roody]

Psychologically I think both of those put a lot of people off. Near Palm Springs people thought I was crazy to ride in the summer. The terrain was mostly flat with the occasional small sand dune or a several thousand foot climb. I didn't see too many people ever attempt the big climbs.

Here in Arkansas, in West Little Rock, its nothing but 50-100 foot hills. Bicycle commuters are as rare as hen's teeth. Yes, people can adapt, but you'd be surprised at what a minor barrier most people will allow to keep them in the car.
But look at it the other way. Here in Lansing, flat as a pancake, bike commuters are also scarce. And on a perfect summer day--75F, sunny, light breeze--there will not be a lot of people on our Rivertrail, which is a very nice recreational facility. More people than on a cold winter day, but still not crowded. I think people are just plain lazy. They'll go for a recreational drive in the car on a nice day, but not a walk or a bike ride. So I still think weather and topography are not major factors in how good a town is for riding or for being carfree.

[BizzaroBike]

Phoenix, public transportation is very weak compared to other big cities. Not nearly as many bike lanes as there should be. The light rail construction folks really didn't have cycling in mind when they set up all these barricades. Everything is spread out, but luckily I have alot of good things within range, Cheese'N'Stuff Deli, local pharmacy, bike shops, etc. I'd like to meet more cyclist and do what I can to make Phoenix more of a cycling friendly city, but there is only so much a sixteen year old can do. There is this nasty pothole in the bike lane on third ave near the hospital that need to be taken care of.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't think flatness of terrain has anything to do with it. Southwestern Ontario is very flat yet the number of bikers here is pretty low and pales in comparisson to Vancouver which is much hillier. Another thing that surprisingly doesn't matter is weather, I have noticed no difference in the number of bikers in the southern US compared to here in Ontario.

I think the main factor is ease of getting places. If in order to get to most stores, you have to ride down busy roads with lots of high speed traffic, you will be less likely to bike, than if you can use low-speed low-volume roads to get from place to place. It depends on how the city is laid out.

[ryanparrish]

I live in Allendale MI Between Grand Rapids and Holland. In Allendale I see bikes locked to every post but no riders. The bus was really awesome when it first came then it cut out all the stops which really sucked! Allendale itself is not bike friendly at all to the casual bike commuter. Although all the buses have bike racks so it makes it easy to get into downtown. I would say downtown Grand Rapids is a bit more bike friendly although I have yet to see a bike lane. Downtown buses have bike racks bus drivers are usually polite. The roads are generally in good shape although there is a lot of construction so this can be a PITA because picking up nails. If I were to design a Utopian bike city it would probably be like Grand Rapids although it would be a larger because I like big cities with a lot of skyscrapers. I would have more parks in the downtown area for bikes to enjoy I would have light rail that is friendly to bikes so it can get people where they need to be on time I would have bike friendly buses I would have more organic coffee shops and more outdoor markets. Plus more bike shops it is easier to fix your self when you have parts around the corner

[Cyclepath]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"

My reasoning is that the town I live in (Des Moines, Iowa) has an older population, awful bus transportation although the actual layout of the town is pretty bike friendly. 30 miles from here is Ames, a smaller town with a large college, much better bus transportation and a similar street layout. In Ames, you see a lot more folks biking for transportation and quite likely many of them are car-free since studying or working on campus is not that convenient with a car. In fact, buses are free for students and car parking is a major hassle.

What's other factors play into a better "biking for transportation" city?


We have two universities, a high school, middle school, & tech school in our small ex-industrial city/semi-rural area & fair bus transport as well as a Dial-a-Ride service. Hardly anyone rides bikes except the small lycra-clad lot. Possibly due to the lack of urban concentration, bike-unfriendly road setup, & virtual lack of traffic enforcement. The city is laid out in a grid. Fairly hilly but not dauntingly so.

[Roody]

I live in Allendale MI Between Grand Rapids and Holland. In Allendale I see bikes locked to every post but no riders. The bus was really awesome when it first came then it cut out all the stops which really sucked! Allendale itself is not bike friendly at all to the casual bike commuter. Although all the buses have bike racks so it makes it easy to get into downtown. I would say downtown Grand Rapids is a bit more bike friendly although I have yet to see a bike lane. Downtown buses have bike racks bus drivers are usually polite. The roads are generally in good shape although there is a lot of construction so this can be a PITA because picking up nails. If I were to design a Utopian bike city it would probably be like Grand Rapids although it would be a larger because I like big cities with a lot of skyscrapers. I would have more parks in the downtown area for bikes to enjoy I would have light rail that is friendly to bikes so it can get people where they need to be on time I would have bike friendly buses I would have more organic coffee shops and more outdoor markets. Plus more bike shops it is easier to fix your self when you have parts around the corner
Grand Rapids is cool. I always see lots of cyclists there in the downtown area. It does have a lot of skyscrapers for a medium size city. The river is great and it's close to Lake Michigan.

[cooperwx]

Asheville is a small city with big topography factor. Not only do the hills/mountains make road biking physically challenging for an average person, but the roads often cannot be widened due to the terrain.

Luckily the city has a tremendous environmental conscience, and plans are in place to make it much more conducive to road cycling and thus bike commuting. Greenways, bike lanes, multi-use paths, signs, etc. are in various stages of development. Land scarcity factors are contributing to infill near the city center, resulting in more people with shorter commutes...

[gerv]

We have two universities, a high school, middle school, & tech school in our small ex-industrial city/semi-rural area & fair bus transport as well as a Dial-a-Ride service. Hardly anyone rides bikes except the small lycra-clad lot. Possibly due to the lack of urban concentration, bike-unfriendly road setup, & virtual lack of traffic enforcement. The city is laid out in a grid. Fairly hilly but not dauntingly so.

I guess when I tried to connect the dots between college towns and a more car-free environment, I figured college towns would have more of a culture where new ideas flourished. From what I read here, this is often the case -- Davis CA being one of the foremost college towns where a large percentage commutes by bike. However, I guess not every college is a hotbed of new ideas.

[jamesdenver]

I live downtown Denver - near Cap Hill/Congress Park. I'm very lucky that my neighborhood has the feel and vibe of a small town, even though it's in the middle of a huge city, which is surrounded by sprawl. We have small markets, coffee shops, and within the blocks of my area is truly feels like Mayberry, and I easily forget there's beltways and sprawl 40 miles in all directions. Good grid system, cycling friendly streets and wide bike route streets and good paved trails.

Like Ryan said I prefer cities with lots of small parks as opposed to one big one. Easy for people to gather in, sit outside and read, concerts, etc....

[jamesdenver]

speaking of Grand Rapids - being a native I finally got to use the line "You can fly to the Gerald Ford Airport and take the Gerald Ford Freeway to the Gerald Ford Museum for the Gerald Ford Funeral."

[vramirez122000]

Presence of repressive wave of parking ticket enforcement could be another factor in making people bike. San Juan, Puerto Rico is a very dense city by US standards but there's no incentive to bike or walk anywhere since cars are parked all over the sidewalks.

[gerv]

I live downtown Denver - near Cap Hill/Congress Park. I'm very lucky that my neighborhood has the feel and vibe of a small town, even though it's in the middle of a huge city, which is surrounded by sprawl. We have small markets, coffee shops, and within the blocks of my area is truly feels like Mayberry, and I easily forget there's beltways and sprawl 40 miles in all directions. Good grid system, cycling friendly streets and wide bike route streets and good paved trails.

I think a lot of neighborhoods would have the same vibe if we stopped rushing to the freeway and slowed down enough to enjoy them. Cycling would be a help, but walking is probably a better way to experience a neighborhood.

[Pampusik]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"


Well, yeah. Towns with a transit system and grid-type streets are typically denser than suburbs without transit. This means you're more likely to see more people in the city than in the boonies. So, the odds are in your favor that you will see more car-free and car-light folks under those conditions...

[makeinu]

I should note that Baltimore has a decent sized car-free and car-light population but our bus system stinks (one of the worst in the country for a metro area.)
Why does everybody in Baltimore say that the bus system stinks (actually not everybody, mostly just the people that don't actually ride the bus)?

I've been in Baltimore for about 1.5 years and I hardly have any complaints about the Baltimore public transit system. I don't even live downtown. Before I moved here I was living in NYC (Brooklyn) for about 3 years and before that I was living on Long Island and commuting into Manhattan. It's been over 10 years since I've owned a car or a bike, so I know the public transit very well on Long Island, NYC, and Baltimore.

I don't think the Baltimore public transit system is any worse than any of the outer boroughs of NYC. Sure, Manhattan has steller mass transit, but that's mostly due to the fact that it's only 2 miles wide.

Actually, what I think really stinks in Baltimore isn't the buses, but the commuter rail. MARC trains are completely unreliable and even if they managed to be on time the written schedule is terrible. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to start dealing with it for my reverse commute to Laurel, MD. In fact, that's what brought me to this forum (to find a folding bike that I can take on the MARC).

[chephy]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents D'oh! :) (This is my way of saying you got it right. :))

I live in Toronto. Good public transit (for North America) including subway (much more convenient and reliable than bus). Three universities. Yes, more gride-type streets, esp. downtown. Downtown Toronto has a ton of bikers. As you move away from the downtown core, the numbers drop. Go into the 'burbs - and cars rule.

[chephy]

Southwestern Ontario is very flat :eek: News to me. :D

But then I come from a place which is really, truly flat. Until age 12 or so I didn't even think it was technically possible to build anything on sloping ground because I've never seen sloping ground in a city. I believed before any city is built the terrain is levelled out. :D

[ModoVincere]

Asheville is a small city with big topography factor. Not only do the hills/mountains make road biking physically challenging for an average person, but the roads often cannot be widened due to the terrain.

Luckily the city has a tremendous environmental conscience, and plans are in place to make it much more conducive to road cycling and thus bike commuting. Greenways, bike lanes, multi-use paths, signs, etc. are in various stages of development. Land scarcity factors are contributing to infill near the city center, resulting in more people with shorter commutes...

+1 for Asheville. The mountains are a stunning backdrop. The hills/mountains are an incredible workout. There's plenty to do there as well. I love that place even if I don't live there.

My town is basic urban sprawl. I live in a suburb about 20 miles north of Atlanta. There are no grid streets. Almost everyone lives in a single family dwelling (house) with 1/4 to 1 acre lots. A lot of infill building is occurring at the present time. Traffic basically is gridlock at rush hour. Biking is as quick if not quicker than the car on many days.

[bikebuddha]

Atlanta has a lot of colleges but you would never mistake it for a college town. It's hilly, the roads are seemingly laid down so that you climb every hill three times, theres a lot traffic, and it's really hot in the summer.

Yet still we ride. At least a few of us.

[Roody]

I think I read that Atlantans spend more time in their cars than people in any other city, including L.A. And most of that time they're stuck in gridlock! I guess you carfree Atlantans get the last laugh. :)

[Bizurke]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"

My reasoning is that the town I live in (Des Moines, Iowa) has an older population, awful bus transportation although the actual layout of the town is pretty bike friendly. 30 miles from here is Ames, a smaller town with a large college, much better bus transportation and a similar street layout. In Ames, you see a lot more folks biking for transportation and quite likely many of them are car-free since studying or working on campus is not that convenient with a car. In fact, buses are free for students and car parking is a major hassle.

What's other factors play into a better "biking for transportation" city?

Des Moines has A LOT on Cedar Rapids Iowa as far as being car free. You have buses with bike racks, more bike shops, more cyclists, and wider streets just to name things off the top of my head. I'm not sure if you've ever been to Cedar Rapids but it's just Des Moines little brother. No universities, buses that stop running at 5:55pm and only run once an hour. We have one main trail that runs through town and it is a MUP that goes between smelly factories and then passes around the dump to end up in the middle of no where.

I'm able to get by fine with out a bike in Iowa, though the snow today kinda pissed me off, we've been having a GREAT winter so far so that has helped a lot.

[gerv]

Des Moines has A LOT on Cedar Rapids Iowa as far as being car free. You have buses with bike racks, more bike shops, more cyclists, and wider streets just to name things off the top of my head. I'm not sure if you've ever been to Cedar Rapids but it's just Des Moines little brother. No universities, buses that stop running at 5:55pm and only run once an hour. We have one main trail that runs through town and it is a MUP that goes between smelly factories and then passes around the dump to end up in the middle of no where.

I'm able to get by fine with out a bike in Iowa, though the snow today kinda pissed me off, we've been having a GREAT winter so far so that has helped a lot.
Des Moines is a pretty good cycling town. Being flat and spread out, it is a natural for bicycle transportation. I discovered this today as I tried to walk to the hardware store. Normally this is a 10 minute cycle, but the roads were nearly impassable by bike and it took me 45 minutes by foot. Round trip was 1.5 hours. Fortunately, I haven't had to do a whole lot of walking this winter, thanks to the weather.

[ryanz4]

I don't think flatness of terrain has anything to do with it. Southwestern Ontario is very flat yet the number of bikers here is pretty low and pales in comparisson to Vancouver which is much hillier. Another thing that surprisingly doesn't matter is weather, I have noticed no difference in the number of bikers in the southern US compared to here in Ontario.

I'm quite surprised by the number of cyclists here in St. Catharines. In a span of two years, I've gone from seeing maybe two cyclists a day, up to an average of 50-70 per day. That's just within the part of the city I live in, so all-in-all St. Kitts may be the best in Ontario.
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Population here (135,000) is somewhat older. However we do have a University and College.

Bus transportation? I personally don't care for it at all, mainly because I find the drivers tend to be ignorant. 5-0 taxi would be the better way to go.

City layout? I'm not sure how to explain it. All I know is everyone who drives a car always complains about how hard the downtown is to get around in, because it's odd the way the streets come out. I've never had a problem on bike though.
Having said that though, I live in the far North-end of the city, and can get to the far south-end within 20 minutes in busy traffic. It takes me no more than 15 minutes to any store within the city.
Bikes lanes are very rare though, however that's do to our previous mayor. Late last year we finally got a new guy in, so things SHOULD improve! I do find it pretty safe to ride on the roads though. Cars are very aware of you, (unless there from out of town).
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So even though I give St. Catharines a 7/10 for cycling in, I'm still looking to get out of here (mainly because I grew up here and want change), and head to a more bicycle friendly city/province. I was always impresed by Vancouver and BC, thinking they were the best in bicycle infrastructure/friendliness in Canada. Boy was I in for a shock when I came across Montreal. One of the only cities I've seen in North America that compairs themselves to European cities/countries, rather than other North American ones.

Here are some short videos of cycling in Montreal & Quebec City. All done by the same guy, I don't think any of them are any longer than a minute or two.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8456786697141780997&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8425818435976417460&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7732488754354508221&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6518791910780521471&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8610295923457074061&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-631254831967280237&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7031448771038448653&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1712266652881152855&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2307558548961178221&q=cycle+fun+montreal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6690330562566482990&q=cycle+fun+montreal

[badger_bike]

I have a theory. You will see a lot more car-free and car-light folks in this type of town
* university town with younger population
* has better bus transportation
* has more grid-type streets rather than suburban "crescents"

What's other factors play into a better "biking for transportation" city?

I live at a college, but most of the students here don't bike as transport. A little more than half the undergrads commute from off-campus, and the neighboring towns aren't always easily accessible via bike. I see more biking from the students who live on campus than those who live off, and I think I've seen more in the past year than I did the year before, probably because of gas prices (a huge complaint here).

The year before I came here, we apparently had some kind of bike program -- "vikings go biking" that offered communal-use bikes on request, but I didn't see anything of it by the time I got there. (except the remaining bikes). That, I thought was an interesting idea, but would like to see more publicity on it to actually make it apparent to people that this is an option. (Personally I'd love to have a program where students could rent or borrow trailers for bikes, too, that'd make grocery shopping less of a pain-- not to mention made it easier when I had to switch residence halls! :))

I think better bus transportation is part of the answer, definitely... a lot of the reason I think people drive is because it's convenient for them. They can do it on their time, on their schedule. The bus that passes by my school passes by twice every hour in each direction, which doesn't always fit into people's schedules. And some students here just aren't familiar with the transit, either -- there's a stereotype of it being full of weirdos, or that it's dirty, confusing, expensive, etc. So not just better, more reliable bus transport, but better publicity about it -- what the fares are, where it goes, how to read the schedules. User-friendly transit in general.

[gerv]

Boy was I in for a shock when I came across Montreal. One of the only cities I've seen in North America that compairs themselves to European cities/countries, rather than other North American ones.
The videos show an excellent infrastructure for bicycles. I've never seen anything like this in a US city. Even Toronto and Ottawa -- where there's a lot of bicycle transportation -- you probably wouldn't see nearly as many cyclists as Montreal. I also hear that rural Quebec has a pretty good bicycle infrastructure. Lots of bike shops and an extensive trail system.

[capejohn]

I live in a very small town, (almost a villiage) on the south coast of Ma. Our port New Bedford has been #1 in catch and $$ exchanged in the world for many years.

Many who work in that environment, lead rough and tumble lives. The lifestyle often includes drinking and drugs. They have scruffy beards, work dirty clothes, more than a few facial scars and teeth missing. I know many of these guys, because of my job, and know that all that damage is not from fighting or work. Much of it is from falling down.

Mix all of the above and you end up with an inordinate amount of "car free" people. Every "neighborhood" bar has at least one bicycle outside. I say hello all bikers when I'm riding. The most I can get out of many of these guys is a nod of the head as they look straight ahead, and avoid eye contact. I'm thinking it's the way I dress.


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/capejohn/Memorial%20Day%20Parade%2006/BikeCops.jpg

[ryanz4]

I also hear that rural Quebec has a pretty good bicycle infrastructure. Lots of bike shops and an extensive trail system.
While looking into bicycling in Montreal and Quebec in general, I came across La Route Verte...One heck of a thing Quebec has now.
http://www.routeverte.com/ang/index.lasso

In summer 2007, Québec will inaugurate the Route verte, a marked bicycle route that extends for more than 4,000 kilometres. This vast bikeway network links 16 regions and passes through 320 municipalities, stretching all the way from one end of Québec to the other.

Initiated in 1995, this major green construction project has involved the efforts of almost a thousand different organizational partners. The official inauguration of this impressive infrastructure will be an opportunity not only to salute the work of these builders but also to enhance awareness of the Route among the people of Québec and to invite the international cycling community to explore our bikeway network. Numerous events will be held in all of the various regions, so come and celebrate with us—on the portion of the Route verte closest to your home.

Route verte 2007: open for fun and exploration!

[NotAsFat]

I live in a pretty good neighborhood for bike free. A section of mid-town Tulsa, OK known as Brookside. A good MUP runs past it from downtown to Jenks, OK. A decent shopping mall is about 5 mi. away. An Albertson's less than 1 mi. Borders books is just under 4 mi. Brookside has lots of little shops and restaurants, including my favorite LBS. There's an AMC 20 theater about 4-5 mi away.

Street pattern is sort of an interrupted grid, lots of dead ends, but you can usually work out a route w/minimal use of arterial streets. Bus service is okay, all city buses have bike racks.

All in all, for a city which calls itself the "Oil Capital of the World", Tulsa, or at least some neighborhoods, are reasonably bike friendly.

[Pax]

I live in a University town, we have a pretty good bus system and the campus has a wonderful system of bike paths. Fortunately, with tons of great input from local dedicated cyclists, the rest of the town is becoming more and more bike friendly.

My SO and I are looking to buy a different house and one of our prime concerns is to be in a more bike/walk friendly area. I look forward to living in a less "take your life in your hands when you try to ride" area. ;)

[Dave951]

Philadelphia pretty much your standard grid (Atleast in Center City) with the occisional road that still remains from the old days of horses. Technically I do have a car in the city, but I never use it except to take me from Philadelphia to New Jersey once a month or so.