March 15, 1999
To:Urban Environment and Development Committee
From:General Manager, Transportation Services
Subject:Toronto Ranked as 5th Best Cycling City in North America
Recommendation:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Discussion:
The City of Toronto was recently ranked as the 5th best cycling city in North America in
Bicycling magazine's third survey on the state of cycling in major cities. In Bicycling's
previous survey, in 1995, Toronto was voted the number one cycling city and in 1990 Toronto
received an honourable mention. Attached for your information is a copy of the article, "The
Best Cycling Cities", which appeared in the March 1999 issue of Bicycling.
Bicycling surveyed North American cities with a population of 200,000 or greater. Their
assessment is based on two factors - cycling infrastructure and the local cycling culture.
Examples of cycling infrastructure include: marked bicycle lanes, municipal bike racks,
bicycle access to bridges and public transportation, city staff dedicated to bicycle issues, area
cycling advocacy efforts, bike safety programs, and a municipal budget for cycling projects.
To assess local cycling culture they considered indicators such as active bicycle clubs, quality
bike shops and the number and variety of public cycling events.
Montreal came out on top this year, the second time in a row that a Canadian City has
achieved the number one ranking. Ottawa and Vancouver ranked 8th and 10th respectively in
1995, dropped off the top 10 list.
It is interesting to note that only two other top ten cities, Philadelphia and Chicago which
ranked 9th and 10th respectively, are comparable in size to the new City of Toronto.
Top 10 North American Cycling Cities:
1. Montreal (population 1.1 million)6. Austin (514,000)
2. Portland (450,000)7. Denver (494,000)
3. Tucson (435,000)8. San Francisco (735,000)
4. Seattle (521,000)9. Philadelphia (1.5 million)
5. Toronto (2.3 million)10. Chicago (2.7 million)
Contact Name and Telephone Number:
Daniel Egan
Manager,
Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure,
Transportation Services Division
392-9065
D. C. KaufmanPaul Bedford
General Manager,Executive Director,
Transportation Services DivisionCity Planning Division
Barry H. GutteridgeVirginia M. West
Commissioner,Commissioner,
Works and Emergency ServicesUrban Planning and Development Services
DE/al/wo
