Why a bicycle is the key to your city | Yvonne Bambrick | TEDxTheAnnexWomen

[Applause] [Music] um we just brought the garden car back on Monday so she's back on the street uh the grass was looking great and then people started sitting on it again so that's okay that's what it's for um so the bicycle is my key to the city that's how I got here today uh did any anybody else ride here show of hands okay we got one two three all right we got some that's good right on hi raffy um so like many people these days I have multiple jobs I have to carry my tech and my tools on my bike from meeting to social engagement to photo shoot and I just don't think I could do everything that I do in a day if I didn't have a bike it does all the heavy lifting for me and I I can go on whatever route suits my task list for the day I'm not waiting for transit or stuck in tra traffic oh there's always free parking at my destination as well which of course doesn't hurt so bicycle's been part of my life for as long as I can remember but I had no idea that it would become such an integral part of my eclectic career um cycling expert wasn't exactly on the list of things to be when you grow up um I got a feel for the bike on the back of my dad's bike in the kid seat and by 33 I was the founding aded of our our City's first Citywide cycling advocacy organization and of course by 37 I'd written this book for bik curious North Americans about everything you need to know for riding a bike in the city um throughout my teenage years I rode to and from high school and to my summer job teaching sailing but what some people might not realize is that I was primarily a driver in my early 20s I hardly touched my bike at all during that period um while I do miss singing at the top of my lungs in my mobile living room I don't miss any of the other stress that came along with it I sold my car in 2000 and used it to the money to pay for part of my postgraduate studies it hasn't occurred to me to buy a car since then and I've built my life in such a way that it shouldn't have to um my bicycle is reliable efficient I ride it pretty much everywhere I go in any weather and I can't imagine my life without it I should say that I also mix it with Transit uh going from if I have to go north or east or west ends of the city and it's a longer distance that's one of the great things is that you can you can blend those modes so who in the room rides for recreation uh weekend sort of long distance maybe mountain biking yeah yeah so you've ridden a bike so you guys you guys understand the joy of of riding a bicycle for those of you that haven't ridden in a while or thinking about getting back onto your bikes I'm here to give you a little nudge today myself and many others have had this key to the city for a long time and I'd like to share it with you so unless you really haven't been paying attention you've noticed that there are far more bicycles in the city that ridership is up there's just bikes everywhere um and there's plenty of good reasons for this besides the weather what is one of the most talked about aspects of life in the city traff traffic ha so people are wasting buckets of time stuck in their cars um and you know their health is declining because the amount of time sort of sitting idly either at work or getting places that's not much fun but wait there's a solution and it's been around for longer than the automobile there we go uh not since the 1890s have bicycles been this popular and it's not just because people are tired of being stuck in traffic and of course you're not actually stuck in traffic you are traffic right when you're in a car we don't like to think of that but it's true um but riding a bike is fun and easy exercise it gets you where you need to go it's super efficient and reliable it's good for your mental and physical health and it's good for the planet what's not to love about that I might it might be old technology but it offers a great way to combat so many of the issues of our time now I'm not suggesting that a bicycle is the right solution for everybody all the time but more people riding more people can be riding a bike more often and more people on bicycles means fewer people in that long line of traffic in front of you as well as a bit of relief from overburden or for overburden traff uh pardon me transit systems right we've been a little bit behind schedule when it comes to expanding our public transportation system so bikes are a great addition to that during the day when you're allowed to bring your bike on but just in general it gives you an alternative get out of that busy street car so according to research out of uft's cycling think and do tank 45% of all trips in Toronto are under 40 or under 5 kilometers and 65% of those short trips are taken by automobile now I don't know about you but I think that 5 kilometers is in a flat city is pretty bikable that said it does depend on what part of the city you're in right some parts of the city are less bike friendly a little more hos hle territory so unfortunately for now uh it's only the brave few that can take advantage of a bicycle for transportation in those parts of the city that said more and more people every year women and men are starting to use a bicycle for Transportation uh According to some new numbers from Counts conducted by the city of Toronto transportation department they compared between 2010 and 2013 we went from 38% women riding to 48% now that's almost parody and that's a really important shift more women are riding I'm one of them obviously um another remarkable count conducted that same year in 2013 again comparing to 2010 numbers on the College Street Bike Lane right around Spadina uh in the 5: to 6:00 pm westbound rush hour there was a 67% increase in bike ridership and bikes actually outnumbered cars that's kind of amazing people like bike Lanes so that's where they go so we've got all kinds of different people run running errands on bixie bikes Bike Share or Toronto Bike Share I should say uh in downtown we've got CEOs riding fancy bikes to work and we've got high-end fashion retailers selling you the bike lifestyle in their shop Windows I'd say that bikes have shifted from subculture to fully mainstream so we've got more people riding than ever but many more people are still hesitant and there's some good reasons for that so yeah Winter's an issue we can acknowledge that some of us are crazy enough to ride throughout the year February was rough but that that was my outfit I managed uh it's not for everyone though and that's okay but either way we've got nine out of 12 months that are totally bikable um and just for the record I was probably warmer than you were waiting for the street cars because I had my engine running and of course I had zero flesh exposed so that worked out pretty well and then of course what about needing to look presentable at our destination right we've got to go to a meeting or social event I rode here today you don't need special gear to ride a bike although I do have my bike shorts under here so preserving my modesty on the bike it's a good thing uh sorry what My Little Secret but now you all know uh cycling doesn't have to be a high-speed race going at a slow steady Pace can be perfectly fine you don't have to get all sweaty but of course I carry a hand fan as well in the summer so when I get off my bike I can fan myself and it's a good shade as well but anyway if you have a longer ride and you do have to sort of work up more of a sweat you can always roll up your clothes pack them and give yourself some time at the end uh to get ready before you're meeting or whoever you know getting to work or whatever it is and then of course carrying things that's another point of concern for people how do you get the kids in the groceries home how do you run errands uh and carry things along but it's amazing what you can haul in a bike I mean that dog looks pretty happy and so does the kid but we've got more options than ever when it comes to carrying things so from baskets and rear racks PES and um you know front and rear loaded cargo bikes there's just so many options now available for carrying things and then for longer distances or extra weight or Hills you can add an electric assist so really the we've got good options and you can do just about anything by bike and you wouldn't believe some of the things I've carried on this one but the number one barrier to entry of course is fear of sharing the road with cars and being vulnerable to injury or worse and that's fair that's absolutely fair but just look at the people that are doing it every day even for those who've been riding regularly it's still a daily Act of courage to ride a bike it's just you know how it works but it's worth it the rewards of being self-propelled are absolutely worthwhile and it's actually kind of addictive to know that you can get from door too you've got parking at the other end you've got predictable travel times and you're having fun for the most part every once in a while those funny stuff that happens on the road but you also get to be more connected to your city uh North American cities are of course vastly different from the cycling havens of uh cities like Copenhagen or Berlin they've properly Incorporated bicycle infrastructure into the cities over the last 40 years we're mostly riding on streets that were built for the rapid throughput of Motor Vehicles so it can be a little nervous making and yet even with that minimal bike infrastructure that we do have tons of people aring there's still thousands of people riding daily in cities across North America in the warmer months with the when the most bikes are on the street we actually have safety and numbers having more bikes on the street increases awareness of drivers that bikes are there and it just yeah there's an expectation that bicycles will be there that said you don't want to ride in the door Zone because people get distracted so do we know what the door zone is okay so the door zone is uh beside a car um it's the the swing of the car door so you don't want to be within you want to stay about a meter away from a car door because any car door can open at any time as I've noticed and I have a dent in my leg to prove but that shouldn't scare you off that's once in my entire lifetime of riding anyway it's not a terrible Dent but I notice it anyway infrastructure um so it might not always feel like it but we actually are making progress uh the city of Toronto is one of many North American cities that have adopted a complete streets policy and a complete streets policy is exactly that you have to take into account all Road users when building or refurbishing a street so it hasn't it's not exactly policy yet they're in the process of putting it in place but that's a really important step in the right direction and despite this happening at a s snail's pace we're in fact making yearly improvements to our infrastructure we now have um physically separated cycle tracks in some places on street bike parking Corrals contraflow Lanes I have one on my street it's fantastic and then we actually have a brand new bike plan on the way which is really going to look at improving the network and expanding it so getting over your fear can lead to experiencing feelings of Freedom autonomy and a real sense of accomplishment and of course adding a bicycle to your Transportation uh sort of option really allows you to see your city in a whole new way you can see the connections between places and you run into friends along the way which is kind of nice interestingly as a woman and thinking about fear in a different way I often feel safer on my b in certain parts of the city than I would if I was walking so that's another thing to keep in mind so cities across uh North America are in transition and we're slowly adapting our streets to accommodate and welcome bicycles this adaptation can be uh is only happening because of two key things there's the cycling Advocates who have been working tirelessly for years to make that happen and then there's the political Champions that understand the value of investing in bicycle infrastructure where there is a political will there is always the financial means and it actually doesn't cost that much to put in place bike infrastructure when you look at all other forms of transportation um I'd like to reference Roger Geller from the Portland Department of Transportation they put in their entire network of cycling infrastructure for $60 million and that's the equivalent that's 60 miles sorry um no pardon me $60 million for approximately 300 miles of bike infrastructure which is equivalent to about one mile of freeway that's that's remarkable so imagine how many bike lanes and how many incredible Bike Share stations we could have across the city for even a quarter of the 920 million that's being proposed for the hybrid option of the gardener right if you put it into context it it's pennies to put to make our city bike friendly and there's certainly demand for this stuff um a recent poll done in 2014 by share the road cycling Coalition uh suggested that well showed pardon me not suggested pulled people 32% of ontarians are riding but 54% of ontarians would like to ride more they'd like to be on their bikes but safety was the number one concern according to research compiled by the league of American bicyclists um from 2000 to 2013 64% increase in cycling in the US and 105% increase in cycling in cities that were bike friendly so that's cities that have put in place bike infrastructure and are welcome welcoming bike riders importantly bike infrastructure serves all Road users not just citizens on bicycles by adding bike lanes and cycle tracks you're adding predictability to the roadway and you're increasing the capacity of those roadways to carry more people um everyone has a dedicated space so the road Works more predictably which kind of dials down the fear and and what comes out of fear is is anger often enough so it helps everything work better with the population density of cities increasing there's just no more room on the road for cars uh we really need to be investing in Alternatives that allow us to move greater numbers of people by making better use of the scarce amount of Road space that we have so cycling Advocates across North America have been working on this for years we've certainly got momentum but now is not the time to stop pedaling we've got a double down in fact and you all in this room can help if you haven't already you might want to consider joining your local cycling advocacy organization and supporting their work um maybe you could let your local Representatives know that you're interested in what they're doing to make the city more bike friendly and that you'd support them in that action uh many politicians are worried about being being vulnerable at the next election or amongst their peers their colleagues on city council uh and they need you know pressure and and support from their constituents uh before they're willing perhaps to you know try something new or to to vote away from the status quo speaking of being vulnerable while listening to bernee Brown's talk about emotional vulnerability has anyone seen it well for me I made the connection to the vulnerability that we choose when we get on a bicycle right you're more exposed to your city but I think that the way you expose yourself on a bike and the way you connect to the city actually allows you to regain some of your own personal power um there's an exhilaration a sense of accomplishment you're self-propelled in this big city machine and that's actually really invigorating and it's incredible how it starts your day or ends your day or just the way it makes you feel overall that you can do your thing in your big city and you're not relying on any other system other than perhaps the roadway system which would ideally work better with more bike infrastructure um so are you willing to make yourself a little more vulnerable in order to experience greater personal freedom bicycles are efficient elegant vehicles they allow freedom of movement and healthy environmentally friendly and cost-effective predictable travel times almost anyone can ride a bike and all PE all people are welcome on a bicycle it doesn't matter what gender or status or physical capacity you have I'd suggest that bicycles are the key to the future livability of our cities and what do we want our cities to look like in 20 years in 10 years years even let's dream big imagine your city with 50% fewer cars um a healthy population that gets enough exercise a transportation system that uh allows everyone to get around safely doesn't pollute the planet and that all are welcome in others have already proven that this is possible so as I said I really truly believe that bicycles are the key to the livability the future livability and present livability of our cities and I hope you enjoy the ride [Applause]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 76,519

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Canada, Life, Transportation, Urban Areas

Id: D72GBlECABs

Length: 17min 4sec (1024 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 19 2016