Whenever I’m in Vancouver (which, frankly, is nowhere near often enough), I’m struck by how many people ride their bikes to get around the city. Honestly, I think I’m amazed enough that I bore anyone within earshot with constant comments about bikes, people riding bikes, and infrastructure to enable bicycle riding.
In Calgary, it feels like riding a bike is definitely a fringe or freak activity. In Vancouver, it feels like just another way to get around. I hope someday Calgary can get to this level of bike activity.
Update: I posted on Twitter about how impressive it is that Vancouver spends $3.5 million annually on new bike infrastructure. I asked @cityofcalgary what our status is. The city responded with our plan - $47 million over 9 years, on new bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Awesome! The stated goal is to have over 47,000 more people riding their bikes by 2018, and almost 80,000 more people walking.