Plan strives to make Victoria "the best small cycling city in the world"
With its compact size (20 sq. km.), mild (and relatively dry) climate, and flat terrain, one could easily make the argument that Victoria offers some of the best conditions for cycling in all of Canada. And during the 1980s and 1990s, local leaders made some modest steps to take advantage of those favourable conditions – including a series of rail-to-trail conversions, and a basic set of painted bike lanes and sharrows – resulting in nearly 10% of their population biking to work, the single highest rate in the country.
But as many other North American cities began investing in networks of protected bike lanes, and subsequently watched their ridership levels rise, Victoria seemingly sat on its hands, content with its self-appointed crown as “Canada’s cycling capital” (a title local advocates and politicians are now trying to distance themselves from).