Broadly speaking, cities tend to have better data on vehicular traffic than on pedestrian and bicycle traffic. This is because road design has traditionally prioritized the movement of cars, above all else. So it has felt right to bias traffic counts. But there are lots of places where pedestrians and cyclists greatly outnumber vehicles.
For example, I was on Queens Quay yesterday visiting my mom and, if you've ever been to Toronto's waterfront in the summer, you'll know that it has one of the busiest bike lanes/trails in the city — if not the busiest. But if you ask ChatGPT just how busy it is, it will more or less say, "I don't know. Really busy?" And that's because we don't have real-time usage data. We have estimates. And the same is true of pedestrian counts.
(If you're aware of a great dataset, please share it in the comment section below.)
But this is starting to change with the advent of AI traffic monitoring solutions that can handle multi-modal environments. Meaning they're capable of counting everything from pedestrians and scooters to cyclists and trucks. This is what cities need to make better decisions. And as this new tech becomes more widespread, I think it's going to show us just how much we've been missing.
Cover photo by Joshua Chua on Unsplash
Okay, so we know that Paris has transformed itself from a car city into a biking city. Between 2015-2020 the City doubled its number of bike lanes. Then in 2021, it announced that it wanted to become a "100% cycling city" and further add to its bike network. Today, it has one of the busiest bike routes in the world and more people cycle than drive. The Globe and Mail reported, here, that last year 11.2% of trips in Paris proper were made by bike, compared to only 4.3% by car. "You would not be wrong to call it a war on the car," Marcus Gee writes. However, the result was a "victory for the city."
At the same time, we know how people will respond to this data. Lots of people will read this article and immediately say, "yeah, but that's Paris, where the average highs and lows in January are 8 and 3 degrees, respectively. It simply won't work in Toronto where our January highs and lows average 0 and -7 degrees. We have snow to contend with; they don't." And of course, they wouldn't be entirely wrong in this argument. Cycling does tend to decline in the winter months in most cities. (Note: The months of April to November in Toronto are just as warm or warmer than Paris in the winter.)
But just for fun, let's look at Oulu, Finland which has been called the "winter cycling capital of the world." Oulu has a population of around 210,000 people, an extremely low population density of approximately 150 people per km2, and January temperatures that average between -7 and -15 degrees.
Broadly speaking, cities tend to have better data on vehicular traffic than on pedestrian and bicycle traffic. This is because road design has traditionally prioritized the movement of cars, above all else. So it has felt right to bias traffic counts. But there are lots of places where pedestrians and cyclists greatly outnumber vehicles.
For example, I was on Queens Quay yesterday visiting my mom and, if you've ever been to Toronto's waterfront in the summer, you'll know that it has one of the busiest bike lanes/trails in the city — if not the busiest. But if you ask ChatGPT just how busy it is, it will more or less say, "I don't know. Really busy?" And that's because we don't have real-time usage data. We have estimates. And the same is true of pedestrian counts.
(If you're aware of a great dataset, please share it in the comment section below.)
But this is starting to change with the advent of AI traffic monitoring solutions that can handle multi-modal environments. Meaning they're capable of counting everything from pedestrians and scooters to cyclists and trucks. This is what cities need to make better decisions. And as this new tech becomes more widespread, I think it's going to show us just how much we've been missing.
Cover photo by Joshua Chua on Unsplash
Okay, so we know that Paris has transformed itself from a car city into a biking city. Between 2015-2020 the City doubled its number of bike lanes. Then in 2021, it announced that it wanted to become a "100% cycling city" and further add to its bike network. Today, it has one of the busiest bike routes in the world and more people cycle than drive. The Globe and Mail reported, here, that last year 11.2% of trips in Paris proper were made by bike, compared to only 4.3% by car. "You would not be wrong to call it a war on the car," Marcus Gee writes. However, the result was a "victory for the city."
At the same time, we know how people will respond to this data. Lots of people will read this article and immediately say, "yeah, but that's Paris, where the average highs and lows in January are 8 and 3 degrees, respectively. It simply won't work in Toronto where our January highs and lows average 0 and -7 degrees. We have snow to contend with; they don't." And of course, they wouldn't be entirely wrong in this argument. Cycling does tend to decline in the winter months in most cities. (Note: The months of April to November in Toronto are just as warm or warmer than Paris in the winter.)
But just for fun, let's look at Oulu, Finland which has been called the "winter cycling capital of the world." Oulu has a population of around 210,000 people, an extremely low population density of approximately 150 people per km2, and January temperatures that average between -7 and -15 degrees.
Yesterday was the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health event here in Toronto.
I'd really like to thank everyone who donated to my ride. I raised $3,800. And the broader Multiplex Construction team raised over $14k. 100% of these donations will go directly to the Baycrest Foundation to fund work related to dementia, Alzheimer's, and other brain function related illnesses.
As advertised, I rode 75 km, which is an improvement from the last time I did a charity cycling event like this. My friend Akbar Ahmad reminded me that not only did I do 50 km on a single-speed bike and get a flat tire along the way, but I did it in boat shoes. Hmm. This time around, I dressed more appropriately. It was also 7 degrees when I left home at 630AM and so I bundled up.
A big kudos to my riding partner, Len Abelman of WZMH Architects, who rode downtown from Vaughan, did 75 km like it was no big deal (I drafted behind him), and then rode all the way back home. His total was 150 km for the day and my knee would not have supported such an endeavor.
Today was also a reminder of just how big the cycling community is in Toronto. Something like 10,000 people participated and it seemed like the majority of riders were fully geared up. It was great to see and it's always fun riding on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway without any cars.
At one point I was beside two guys chatting about how one of them is soon to become a father. The other guy asked if it was a boy or a girl and his response was, "it's a girl — and I really hope she likes cycling as much as her dad does."
Toronto is a cycling city.
Here's a video comparing winter vs. summer cycling in Oulu.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't generally cycle in January and February. Partially because it's cold and partially because I don't want road salts all over my business. But the correct framing isn't that it's not possible in a city like Toronto; it's that I'm too soft. That, and we need to invest in the right infrastructure if we want more people to do it.
Yesterday was the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health event here in Toronto.
I'd really like to thank everyone who donated to my ride. I raised $3,800. And the broader Multiplex Construction team raised over $14k. 100% of these donations will go directly to the Baycrest Foundation to fund work related to dementia, Alzheimer's, and other brain function related illnesses.
As advertised, I rode 75 km, which is an improvement from the last time I did a charity cycling event like this. My friend Akbar Ahmad reminded me that not only did I do 50 km on a single-speed bike and get a flat tire along the way, but I did it in boat shoes. Hmm. This time around, I dressed more appropriately. It was also 7 degrees when I left home at 630AM and so I bundled up.
A big kudos to my riding partner, Len Abelman of WZMH Architects, who rode downtown from Vaughan, did 75 km like it was no big deal (I drafted behind him), and then rode all the way back home. His total was 150 km for the day and my knee would not have supported such an endeavor.
Today was also a reminder of just how big the cycling community is in Toronto. Something like 10,000 people participated and it seemed like the majority of riders were fully geared up. It was great to see and it's always fun riding on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway without any cars.
At one point I was beside two guys chatting about how one of them is soon to become a father. The other guy asked if it was a boy or a girl and his response was, "it's a girl — and I really hope she likes cycling as much as her dad does."
Toronto is a cycling city.
Here's a video comparing winter vs. summer cycling in Oulu.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't generally cycle in January and February. Partially because it's cold and partially because I don't want road salts all over my business. But the correct framing isn't that it's not possible in a city like Toronto; it's that I'm too soft. That, and we need to invest in the right infrastructure if we want more people to do it.
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