January 21/10 18:57 pm - Majority of Toronto Adults Now Cyclists

Posted by Editor on 01/21/10
 

The City of Toronto has just released the results of a telephone survey designed to measure public opinion on issues related to cycling. The survey repeated one undertaken 10 years earlier (1999), and was conducted by Ipsos Reid.

The survey found that 54% of Toronto adults are now cyclists, up from 48% in 1999, and that there has been significant increase in the number of Toronto adults who cycle for utiliarian purposes, such as commuting. The number increased to 29% from 20% in 1999. While Toronto-East York had the highest proportion of utilitarian cyclists (36%), the largest increases took place in the suburbs (Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough).

One in four (25%) Toronto residents classify themselves as recreational cyclists; that is they cycle purely for leisure or fitness. This is down marginally from 1999 (28%) because more cyclists have expanded their cycling to include utilitarian cycling.

Other findings related to the awareness and perceived quality of cycling infrastructure, such as bike lanes/routes, bike parking and education (for both cyclists and motorists. In all cases, respondents felt that improvements had been made, but that further improvements were necessary because of increased expectations.

Safety on roads remains the public’s principal concern about cycling. While significantly more cyclists are comfortable biking on major roads with and without bike lanes than 10 years ago, still only one-third of cyclists say they are comfortable biking on major roads without bike lanes.

The full survey can be downloaded Here. An executive summary of the findings can be downloaded Here.