MAKE CYCLING ACCESSIBLE

  Source: York Region With only 1 km of bike lanes in the core of Stouffville, it's discouraging to cycle around town. The map above shows the cycling map of Stouffville. Fortunately for recreational cyclists, Stouffville has many off-road trails, as depicted in the green markings. However, the only bike lane is on a short portion of Ninth Line, as outlined by the orange line.  As York Region describes, a bike lane is "a portion of the roadway designated for the exclusive use by cyclists indicated by signage and pavement markings." Since there are basically no bike lanes in Stouffville, the average person would ride their bike on the sidewalk. If you've ever biked on the sidewalk,   you've probably faced the difficulty of serving past pedestrians. The sidewalk isn't safe for cycling, but neither is the road! The roads have no space for cyclists in busy areas such as Main Street and Weldon Road.  For students of Stouffville District Secondary School, biking to

Source: Adriana von Allmen With more bicycles than residents, Amsterdam, Netherlands, is the most bicycle-friendly city in the world.  I got to experience the magic of Amsterdam’s biking culture when I visited the city in 2019. With swarms of cyclists occupying the streets, it was an eye-opener to see how lively a city could be in the absence of cars.  Cycling is the go-to method of transportation for the Dutch. Almost every road I saw in Amsterdam had well-maintained bike lanes. There is around 515km of dedicated cycle lanes to accommodate the 1/4 of the Dutch population that cycles every day. I was surprised to see the lack of cars in the streets of Amsterdam. The roads dedicated to cars are extremely narrow and limited in Amsterdam compared to Stouffville, making it discouraging to drive a car. The fact that Amsterdam has much fewer cars than Stouffville, despite the population difference, shows that neighbourhoods don't need to rely on cars with the use of effective bike infras

  Source: Ontario Parks Because Canadians depend on cars for transportation, many miss out on crucial exercise. Exercise can be incorporated into our everyday lives by cycling for transportation instead of driving – this is called "active commuting." According to a Harvard Study, biking to work makes it more likely for people to meet national physical activity guidelines. You can efficiently meet the recommended guidelines for cardiovascular fitness and health benefits with the intensity of cycling.  The average person is aware that cycling is healthy, but if only they realized the positive impact a simple 10-minute bike ride can put on their lives. Cycling is one of the best exercises a non-active person or beginner can take up. It's low impact, meaning your body will be less strained and safe from injury compared to other workouts. Plus, cycling is low-stress since most people already know how to ride a bike and have access to their own bicycle.  Cycling is a form of ca

Drivers love to blame bike lanes and cyclists for every problem on the road.  Canadian politicians also join in on the hate – for example, former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford,  argued that bike lanes were taking away space for cars and ripped out bike lanes to fight the so-called "war on the car".  Unfortunately, it's a common misconception that bike lanes and cyclists have a negative effect on road conflict and traffic. Simply, drivers believe that cyclists have no place on the road. As Rob Ford expressed, "every year, we have dozens of people that get hit by cars or trucks. Well, no wonder: roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks, not for people on bikes."  Source: Joe Lindsey While drivers are entitled to their own opinion, the fact is that bike lanes are beneficial on the road. Studies have found that bike lanes not only make it safer for cyclists but also for drivers and pedestrians. Tom Babin, a Calgary cyclist and journalist who has written about cyclin