Bike Sense

How Bike Friendly Community Awards give municipalities a boost

• The BC Cycling Coalition • Season 2 • Episode 4

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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

Share your BikeSense with us! Send us a text message.


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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.

Membership in the BCCC is now FREE! To find out about BCCC's projects and add your voice to the chorus please visit BCCycling.ca


Peter Ladner:

Welcome to Bike Sense, the BC Cycling Coalition's podcast, where we talk about all things related to active transportation advocacy in BC. I'm your host, peter Ladner, chair of the Board of the BC Cycling Coalition. I hope you enjoy the show of the board of the BC Cycling Coalition. I hope you enjoy the show. We've got a great podcast for you today and at the end we're introducing something new and special. Stick around for Peter's rant.

Peter Ladner:

We are very lucky to have on our podcast today Subha Ramanathan, who is the manager of programs and partnerships for the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in Ontario, and the reason that we're talking to her is that her organization oversees an amazing program called Bike Friendly Communities, which is something that started in the US butS but has been adopted around Ontario and, interestingly, there's even a BC community involved. Subha, welcome to the program. Thanks, peter. Glad to be here. Just before we get into the bike-friendly communities. I'm going to be asking you what difference it makes and exactly how it works and how these communities enjoy and show off their credentials that they get from your organization. But I noticed you have a background in public health and you've done some work out at UBC with the UBC researchers. Tell us a bit about that.

Subha Ramanathan:

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 look at how built environments affected the way that people are physically active.

Subha Ramanathan:

Physical activity has always been a keen interest of mine and I started to think about what we could do to encourage populations to be physically active. Where you don't have to think about being active, you're kind of tricked into doing it with your lifestyle and researchers that I ended up working with Drs Guy Faulkner, who then moved to UBC. He started to create this program that focused on children and their physical activity levels and the ways that they got to and from school using active transportation and that, of course, encompassed walking, cycling and other forms of wheeling. And we started to look at what it is that motivates people to choose active forms of wheeling. And we started to look at what it is that motivates people to choose active forms of transportation, and it turns out that connections to nature and socializing with other people on the walk to school these are all integral components of being active without realizing that you're being active. And so that was my connection to UBC and my introduction into active transportation that then led me to the Share the Road Cycling Coalition.

Peter Ladner:

I love that. What else do you do to be active? I presume you cycle.

Subha Ramanathan:

Yes, I cycle, but I also really enjoy over the last few years Zoom classes. I take quite a few fitness classes online. I garden, I have a wonderful property and vegetables and I've been spending my time canning over the last few days. I try to integrate physical activity into my day-to-day happenings so that I don't necessarily have to dedicate time for exercise.

Peter Ladner:

I love that. And well, that leads us, of course, to bike-friendly communities, because when your community is bike-friendly, I guess it just follows that people are more inclined to, and more likely to, cycle as a way of just getting around, without being avid cyclists in Lycra with square jaws and long training regiments on the weekends. So, subha, tell me there's an interesting backstory, before we finally get into the topic at hand about the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, about how it started, and perhaps you can sketch that out quickly, but also tell us what Greg's Law is.

Subha Ramanathan:

Okay, so Share the Road Cycling Coalition was founded by Eleanor McMahon, whose husband, Greg, was an officer in the Ontario Provincial Police and he was tragically killed in a training accident when he was cycling on the roads and he was struck by a truck. And it turned out that the driver of this truck had a few violations, but the penalties for these violations were not as severe as they could have been. And so it turns out if we had more stringent laws in place, then this accident could have been prevented. In place, then this accident could have been prevented. And so Greg's law captures the spirit of that, and Eleanor had gone through several means of advocating for more stringent penalties for violations driver violations so that this is drunk driving you're talking about.

Subha Ramanathan:

It wasn't drunk driving, I think. There were a few speeding violations and careless driving violations, and so now there are more stringent penalties if there are violations in place.

Peter Ladner:

Well, let's move on to Thank you. That's a tragic but fascinating story and somewhat relevant with the recent deaths of Johnny Goudreau and his brother, the hockey players hit by a drunken driver while they were out cycling and killed. Thank you, bike-friendly communities. Ranks communities according to their cycling infrastructure. That's my rough take of it, but you now have how many communities in Ontario involved in this and what do they have to do and what happens when they get involved?

Subha Ramanathan:

We have 52 communities in Ontario involved in the Bicycle Friendly Communities Program, and it isn't just infrastructure. We talk about the five E's that need to be in place in order to show that you are bicycle friendly, and that includes engineering. So that's the infrastructure you mentioned. But then there also needs to be educational programs in place, and that includes cycling skills training for all ages, knowledge of the rules of the road, encouragement that includes signature events, maps for cyclists, programs and services available for cyclists, evaluation and planning. So the committees that are in place looking at active transportation in your municipality, funding mechanisms and the stability of those funding mechanisms and how your cycling infrastructure is being monitored, usage monitored and roadways being built. And then, finally, the newest E that was added last year by the League of American Bicyclists is equity and accessibility. So what efforts are you taking as a community to reach new audiences to foster cycling?

Peter Ladner:

I love that this methodology was worked out over the years by this Washington DC-based organization and it's now used, I believe, in the states of Washington and Oregon and elsewhere in the US, well, right across the US, and that nobody has to invent anything here. You just have to plug and play. But it's not that easy. It looks to me to get involved. But it's not that easy, it looks to me, to get involved If you are a community and you think, oh, I'd like to get. Well, what can you get? First of all, you get designated. What are the designations?

Subha Ramanathan:

There are designations from bronze through to platinum. We don't yet have a platinum municipality in Ontario or in Canada, but there are five municipalities in the US that have reached this platinum achievement. Engaged staff, more people on the road cycling, more programs available, more efforts to make cycling a viable transportation option, so not just a recreational option, as you mentioned the folks in the Lycra that are on their bikes, but also the people who just need to get to the corner store, and they have the option to do so by bike.

Peter Ladner:

So what happens when a municipality goes into this program and say they get a gold standard? I understand they get a highway sign. They can put up your when you approach the highway, the town, by vehicle, I guess, of any kind. But what does it do to the people in the community? Do they get excited about it? Do they compete and get worried if they don't measure up to their neighboring community?

Subha Ramanathan:

Absolutely. Municipalities are quite invested in this process. It takes quite a long time to gather the data that goes into the application form, and successes are celebrated. There's often a press release with the presence of the mayor. Some municipalities will organize a ride that the mayor takes part in, which really shows support all the way to the top of the government structures. And so communities want to brag and say, hey, we are a bronze community or a silver community or a gold community, and every rank achieves a road sign. So you don't have to simply be a gold community. Even bronze communities will receive one road sign from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition and the option to purchase additional signs to display all around to all the entrances into the municipality.

Peter Ladner:

Now I notice there's almost like a participation ribbon here you can get an honorable mention, and there was one municipality in BC that was on your list Port Alberni got an honorable mention. How did they get involved, do you know?

Subha Ramanathan:

A few years ago, we thought of expanding our bicycle-friendly communities program across Canada, and we wanted to see how the standards might follow in municipalities that have slightly different laws than we do in Ontario and slightly different considerations political structures and so the program was available for anyone to apply.

Subha Ramanathan:

Though we didn't necessarily reach out to local organizations to share information about the BFC program, we did make the program available across Canada, and Port Alberni had applied, and they had many of the building blocks in place. They had a team of staff members dedicated to active transportation. They had some data collection being synthesized on a regular basis. I think what we had noticed is that there were certain aspects, like the educational programs, that could use a little bit more strengthening and more stable funding mechanisms in place, and so we provided them with a feedback report highlighting some of their strengths and showing the ways that they can build towards becoming a bronze municipality, and so that's another benefit of being in the program that you get feedback. You're not just filling out an application, you also have a team of experts that are going to.

Peter Ladner:

I love that feedback thing. It's almost like a consulting service. Now, what if there were another community in BC that wanted to do this? Are you open to spreading this around the country or, do you like in Quebec? Do you expect the provinces to each have their own initiatives?

Subha Ramanathan:

initiatives. Well, I think for now we are. We're certainly open. We just created a new application form that is identical to what they have distributed in the US. In the past we had adapted versions for Ontario, but in the most recent version that was released, the 2024 application, it's now identical to what they are issuing in the US, and so we do have the ability to have Ontario or Share the Road oversee the program for all of Canada. We're trying to ramp up our internal resources to be able to do that, but I do think that, as time is going on and there are technologies in place that can assist us in administering a program widely with limited resources, I think that Share the Road will soon be in a position to oversee work across Canada.

Peter Ladner:

So if a British Columbia municipality wanted to get involved, they could just go to your website, download the form and do the work Absolutely.

Subha Ramanathan:

Is that?

Peter Ladner:

correct and then they would get. Would they get the highway sign and the certificate on the press release and all of that?

Subha Ramanathan:

Yes, feedback Okay the whole shebang yes. Feedback, the whole shebang. Anybody who applies has access to the feedback report from the expert judges. One highway sign, a digital award icon that can be put on their websites or shared through social media and, if they would like to, they also receive a discounted registration to come and attend our Ontario Bike Summit that we run every year.

Peter Ladner:

Well, maybe we could work a deal for them to attend a BC. We did our own Active Transportation Summit recently and we'll no doubt do that again. But that's wonderful to hear that. I'm impressed and surprised that we could be getting involved. But it's not that easy right. How long does it take? I mean, you mentioned some of the pieces that were in place in Port Alberni, but you've got to get a task force together and the municipal staff on board. Could you just run us through what it would take for a municipality to do this? Sure To apply.

Subha Ramanathan:

Absolutely.

Subha Ramanathan:

It does take a bit of time to fill out the application.

Subha Ramanathan:

As I mentioned, there are five distinct areas that we're looking into, ranging from engineering all the way to equity and accessibility, and it's very unlikely that a single municipal staff person has the knowledge across those five areas, and so you really do need to get together the folks from engineering, the folks who are doing the educational programs, student transportation services.

Subha Ramanathan:

There's a wide range of departments that need to talk to each other about bicycle friendliness and what they're doing to move towards higher standards of bicycle friendliness and what they're doing to move towards higher standards of accessibility of the neighborhoods, and so we want those teams to get together and discuss what they're doing, share data about what they're doing and fill out this application form, and in most cases, it takes several months I would say three to four months to give justice to the application form and give justice to all the work that you're doing, capture all the work that you're doing in a single spot, and I think that this exercise is actually one of the most important parts of becoming bicycle friendly gathering everything in one area, celebrating your achievements in one spot and having that as your roadmap for the future.

Peter Ladner:

That makes a lot of sense. Could you tell us about some specific projects that have, say, moved a city or community up from one level to the next city or community up from one level to the next? I'll give you a clue. I read on your website that Ottawa moved up to a gold level One of three communities. Is it Ottawa, toronto? And who's the other one that's the gold one in Ontario?

Subha Ramanathan:

Waterloo.

Peter Ladner:

And Waterloo. But Ottawa did they do car-free Sundays in their parkways and they made that every weekend from May to October. Is that, are they still doing that?

Subha Ramanathan:

Is that a factor in their I'm not sure if they are still doing that. I think over the last few years a lot of these programs have been put on hold. Their gold designation was achieved prior to the pandemic and unfortunately, a lot of these public programs had to be pulled on hold because of resource constraints. But I will say that having achievements like a Car Free Sunday, where you're able to like a Car Free Sunday, where you're able to designate public space for cyclists and pedestrians and people on alternate forms of wheels, it really does show the municipal support and also the public support for having this, because we know that it's not just about municipal staff putting together events. People need to show up for the events. There needs to be support on both sides, and so a gold community is distinct from a silver and a bronze by having high levels of public support for cycling and walking and wheeling, for cycling and walking and wheeling.

Peter Ladner:

I noticed that in the American one they also have a platinum and a diamond level and you mentioned that there were was it seven or something high ranking cities in the States. Can you name some of those? Just maybe we want to go visit them.

Subha Ramanathan:

Yes, so there's Madison, wisconsin. That's the one that always pops into my head first. I'm trying to think of the other ones. I don't have the US information in my head.

Peter Ladner:

Is Eugene Oregon one of them.

Subha Ramanathan:

There are some in Oregon.

Peter Ladner:

Bend maybe.

Subha Ramanathan:

Anyway, we can look that up.

Peter Ladner:

We can look that up. Speaking of looking things up, I know that the American Bike League puts out a book called their Idea Book which has case studies from all these cities and an interactive map. You can go in and poke around and kind of get a feel for the situation and anybody can look that up at bikeleagueorg slash BFC Idea Book, that's Bike-Friendly Community Idea Book. So bikeleagueorg slash BFC Idea Book. And now going back to the Canadian program, your next intake is very soon, I believe.

Subha Ramanathan:

Yes, our next deadline is October 11th 2024.

Peter Ladner:

So if a community in BC wanted to get involved, that gives a lot of lead time for the next one after that would be October 2025?.

Subha Ramanathan:

Yes, we're moving to once a year in October once a year in October.

Peter Ladner:

So let me plant the seed to my millions of podcast listeners that if your community wants to do this, now would be a good time to start thinking about it. Go and look into some of these sources, download the application form it has a frequently asked questions section in there and take a run at a chance at a really nice highway sign that calls you some kind of bronze, silver or gold community and boasting rights. Having been in municipal government, I have to say, to go back to the comparison thing, that yes, there's the celebration aspect, but there's also 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 catch up? Keep up, and I kind of like that because it is a motivating factor and anything that motivates people to do more of this is, in my mind, a good thing. Subha, I'm kind of done with questions. Is there anything you want to add that you think the listeners in BC should know?

Subha Ramanathan:

I do think that, ultimately, we're all trying to work towards creating more livable communities and by looking at bicycle friendliness, it also makes it more friendly for people with various mobility challenges. It makes it more friendly for new parents with strollers. There's many different types of people that benefit from more livable communities, more active built environments, creating our municipalities and roadways. That helps us to get outside and meet one another. There are just so many benefits to becoming more bicycle friendly that I I almost think that in the future it might be renamed as active transportation communities or something Happy cities.

Subha Ramanathan:

Happy cities, yes, livable cities.

Peter Ladner:

We could package that little, those last few comments of yours, and use them at the end of every one of our podcasts, because, as we all know, what we're trying to do is a big, happy thing that everybody wins if we get it right. So thank you so much for your work and sharing that information with us so that maybe we can benefit from some of these programs here in British Columbia. Thanks, subha.

Subha Ramanathan:

Thank you.

Peter Ladner:

I wanted to share a very short rant with my producer, Carmen Mills. Carmen, I'm going to ask you do you get bothered by, or notice how many cyclists ride around at night with no lights?

Carmen Mills:

Well, I might be one of them, so I try to be gentle.

Carmen Mills:

Well, I might be one of them, so I try to be gentle.

Peter Ladner:

The other day I was cycling around the waterfront bikeway in Vancouver and half at least of the cyclists approaching us had no lights. Some of these places were unlighted. It was dangerous for me and I can't figure out. Do these people drive their cars around at night with no lights on? Would they even think of that? And just to say that, when I'm riding at night with a good light front and back, I feel way safer than riding in the daytime, because it's really clear that I'm there and I'm really visible. So, cyclists, a light is your safety weapon. Use it and don't put other cyclists at jeopardy by riding around with no lights, thinking you're cool and you don't need to bother.

Carmen Mills:

Yeah, and I would say actually, if you want to go minimal on that, my personal feeling is the rear light is even more important than the front. It's best to have both, but cyclists are more often rear-ended. So get a red flasher, a cheap one, even wire it onto the back of the bike so you don't have to worry about it being stolen, and that helps quite a lot.

Peter Ladner:

Oh, one more thing Riding with a light during the day reduces your chance of having an accident by I believe it's 50%. So get a good light, have it on all the time. And if you're lucky enough to have an e-bike, get it hooked up so the light's on every time you start it up. And finally, I have figured out something to say. I get so angry and I don't want to offend people, so I don't want to say get a bike light. I just say lights are good as I'm passing, so lights are good. People, don't forget that You've been listening to Bike Sense, an original podcast from the BC Cycling Coalition. If you liked the podcast, we'd be 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 or suggestions for future episodes, email me at peterladner at bccyclingca. At bccyclingca, you can help us amplify BC Cycling Coalition's voice by simply becoming a free member at bccyclingca.