Here's only Canadian city to rank Top 20 bike-friendly list
Digital Reporter
Saturday, June 6, 2015, 6:26 PM - Spring, summer and early fall attracts many cyclists to Montreal with their ever-expanding bike-share system.
The city has been long-praised for supporting cyclists and protecting bike lanes. However, according to a new report on bike-friendly cities, Montreal has taken a nosedive.
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While Montreal is the only Canadian city to make the Top 20 annual Copenhagenize Index, they took a tumble this year falling from 14th spot in 2013, to last place.
On top of making the list for most bike-friendly cities in the world, Boucherville, a suburb just northeast of Montreal is the best place to live, according to a 2015 MoneySense report.
Topping the list of a recent Statistics Canada city satisfaction poll is another Quebec city. People in the community of Saguenay, Que., have a life satisfaction score of 8.245 out of 10. On a global scale, Canada is the fifth happiest country, according to a new UN ranking.
The bike-friendly list is released every two years by the Copenhagenize Design Company, ranking cities worldwide based on a number of factors including: cycling advocacy, infrastructure, facilities, safety, social acceptance and gender split.
The world's most bike-friendly cities: big surprises in @copenhagenize's latest top 20 list https://t.co/JIDmXN8XBo pic.twitter.com/woOHzdMgGe
— Urbanphoto (@urbanphoto_blog) June 4, 2015
The urban planning and consulting firm rated 122 cities this year.
Vancouver takes the 46th spot, while the rest of the list is largely dominated by other European cities.
Cyclists in Vancouver are not surprised at the city’s results, according to CBC.
“There are so many European cities in particular that have been making investments in cycling for 30 or 40 years,” said Erin O’Melinn, director of HUB, a cycling advocacy organization in Vancouver told CBC. “And we’ve just started.”
Copenhagen holds the top spot, followed by Amsterdam and Utrecht. About 45 per cent of people commute by bike in Copenhagen.
😂😂😂 @Oregonian: Portland fails to make influential list of planet's top bike-friendly cities. https://t.co/BSoJI2ofds pic.twitter.com/XYySsMMyCv
— JoAnn Schinderle (@joannlizabeth) June 2, 2015
Investment in bicycle infrastructure is a modern and smart move for any city, Copenhagenize Design Company reports.
"Studies from Denmark tell us that for every kilometre cycled, society enjoys a net profit of 23 cents, whereas for every kilometre driven by car we suffer a net loss of -16 cent. With rising urbanization, our cities need modern mobility solutions and the bicycle proves time and again that it can offer results."
Source: copenhagenize.eu | CBC
