This post by Jackson Smylie is part of Spacing’s partnership with the Toronto Cycling Think & Do Tank at the University of Toronto. Jackson is currently in his third year at U of T, completing his B.A. in mathematics and philosophy. An avid cyclist, he loves the challenge of downtown biking and excitedly awaits the introduction of more bike lanes. He believes that cycling has the power to effect great social, environmental, and therapeutic change. Jackson’s experience in environmental philosophy helps him understand the power of individual behavioural change within a large group.

Most cyclists say farewell to their bikes in the sub-zero Toronto winters. But although biking in cold, snowy conditions poses some problems for cyclists, they are all surmountable with adequate preparation and conscious decision making on the road! With these 5 tips, you can safely and confidently bike throughout the winter. Winter doesn’t have to stop you from saving money on transit, keeping in shape, and enjoying the outdoors!

​Even though cycling is an aerobic exercise – and you may even break a sweat in the cold months – you should err on the side of warmth for your winter commutes. This means many layers of clothing and extra consideration for extremities. A sure-fire recipe for a warm ride is a pair of winter boots, double-layered clothing, mittens, a winter coat, and a balaclava.

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute advises against wearing a hat underneath your helmet, but your ears can stay nice and toasty with ear muffs or head bands that don’t compromise the helmet’s safety.

Most importantly, remember to account for the wind chill that comes with biking – cycling at 15km/h in still air is the same as a 15km/h wind. The colder it is, the greater the wind chill factor will be! Although wind chill will not cool your body past the actual outside temperature, it will cool your body down at a faster rate than if you are staying still. Windproof clothing is a must!

​There is a seemingly endless list of supplies to buy for winter biking, but some are more essential than others. Most important is to equip your bike with extra lights, as there is typically less daylight in the winter. In addition to lights on the front and back of your bike, you could buy a clip-on light for your helmet, or even buy extra reflectors for your wheels or pedals.

Fenders are very important for a dry ride! Roads in the winter are often slushy, and fenders prevent your tires from kicking that slush up to your back and head!

Although it’s not necessary to get new tires for the winter, tubeless tires, solid tires, or carbide-studded tires help with grip and prevent flat tires. Slushy winter roads demand more from your tires than in the summer, so you could keep a durable set of tires to swap out during the cold!

​Every cyclist makes split-second decisions on the road, but decisions that are safe in the summer may be unwise in the colder months. You must adjust your cycling heuristics to account for black ice and slippery roads. Cycle more slowly than usual and brake well in advance of traffic lights in case you hit an icy patch. As much as it’s fun to slide down a hill on skis, sliding through a busy intersection is an adventure you should best avoid.

Cars may not expect to see cyclists in the winter, and they may not be prepared to give you lots of space on the road. To avoid collisions, you can ride a couple feet away from the curb so vehicles can see you, wear extra lights, and cycle far out from parked cars to prevent getting doored. After a snowfall, smaller roads are often not plowed, so you can plan your route ahead of time to make sure you don’t find yourself in pedal-deep snow!

Most importantly, be mentally prepared to deal with slightly worse conditions in the winter than in the summer. Take your time, focus and ride defensively.

If you feel uncomfortable biking in snowy or slushy weather, you don’t have to do it! It is important to not be overcome with fear while on the road, both for your sanity and for your safety. If winter cycling has posed a big challenge for you, start with small steps, such as biking around the block to practice adapting to the new road conditions.

There are many steps you can take to make your winter ride more comfortable. Biking near bus routes ensures you have other transportation options. Try biking with friends at first to keep each other accountable; preparation leads to confidence!

​In addition to buying gear for the winter, it is a good idea to take extra care of your bike. Putting in a few extra minutes after your ride may save you much more time and money down the road. To prevent any deterioration, salt stains should be washed off using a sponge with warm water – using a hose may blast the grease off your bike’s chain and eventually rust its bearings.

Check your tire pressure often; higher air temperature means more air pressure. This means that colder days may require extra tire-pumping. As the days warm up again, you should let some air out of the tires to make sure the pressure does not exceed their limit. Some cyclists advise a slightly lower tire pressure in the winter to increase your grip on slippery roads.

Winter does not need to stop your pedals from turning! With adequate preparation, warm clothing, and prudent decision-making on the road, you can enjoy the frosty air all year long.

This post by Michelle Kearns is part of Spacing’s partnership with the Toronto Cycling Think & Do Tank at the University of Toronto. Michelle is a graduate of U of T’s Master of Science in Planning program working in partnership with the Scarborough Cycles project at the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation. Scarborough Cycles is funded by the Metcalf Foundation’s Cycle City program, which aims to build a constituency and culture in support of cycling for transportation.

Scarborough was built for automobiles, this is true. Arterial roads are wide and fast, crossing distances at intersections are long, and winding residential streets are designed to keep traffic out (and at the same time this design restricts the use of these streets as safe cycling shortcuts). However, not everyone drives. TTC ridership counts point to heavily used routes such as Eglinton East (28,000 people on an average weekday), Lawrence East (33,700), and Victoria Park (24,800) (TTC, 2014), and since there is no comprehensive and detailed current walking or cycling data, TTC ridership is the closest we have to understanding how many residents are getting around without a private automobile. We know that car ownership in Scarborough is not nearly as common as what some may assume. There are significant numbers of residents getting around without cars in Scarborough. Even transit riders turn into pedestrians or cyclists when making the trip to or from the bus stop.

Over one month in late 2016, my colleague Trudy Ledsham and I held four focus groups in Southwest Scarborough with the goal of better understanding barriers to walking and cycling for transportation in the area. These focus groups were born out of a survey done by the Scarborough Cycles team when they had initially sought to generally understand travel in Scarborough. Thankfully for us, we were able to take advantage of one question on that survey: “Would you be interested in participating in a focus group on bicycling for transportation?” A total of 32 participants were still interested, months later, and chose to join us for a conversation.

We had expected the discussion to focus broadly on a lack of bike lanes and the challenges of crossing arterial roads, but instead we were privileged to learn about the participants’ daily lives and the unique mobility barriers they experience.

The focus groups included residents from various income groups, ages, and immigration status. Both high-rise dwellers and single-family homeowners participated. Many attendees were eager to tell their stories–of suffering a severe fall off a bike due to feeling forced to ride on the grassy boulevard and not the sidewalk or road, of poor lighting on sidewalks necessitating long route alterations on the way home, or of being passed too closely by fast-moving buses on Pharmacy Avenue while on a bike and fearing for their safety. Many saw TTC fare (and infrequent schedules) as barriers to go grocery shopping, taking their children to daycare, or running errands. Biking was helpful for some trips, but not feasible for many due to distance or the lack of a safe route. Biking to the nearest subway station (Victoria Park for most participants) would reduce commute time, but again, would require time spent on arterial roads—most participants in this case used the sidewalk. The bike parking station at Victoria Park was inaccessible to most—too expensive and too difficult to register as it must be done in-person at Union Station.

There was a sense of confusion for participants who were relatively new to the area when the Ford-era bike lane removal was brought up. For those who try to meander to the grocery store on their bikes, a bike lane on Pharmacy Avenue would have removed a significant barrier.

One of Scarborough’s best resources is the ravine trail system, but many participants felt unsafe exploring the isolated ravines on their own (as they thought there was little in the way of maps or wayfinding) or felt like they could not use these trails to commute as there was no lighting at night. Simply crossing the road was a barrier. Although all arterials are equipped with sidewalks and traffic lights at main intersections, the sheer distance that a pedestrian has to cross while cars attempt to turn across their path was a source of discomfort, especially for participants who were older, faced mobility challenges, or cared for small children.

​This is a summary of the feedback and knowledge gained through this exercise. Thirty-two participants agreed to chat about their daily mobility challenges–many were passionate and truly believed some small changes could enhance safety and security for themselves and their neighbours. However, the system of “being heard” in Toronto is complicated. Councillors, community council, transportation services, the TTC–being new to Canada, having unpredictable schedules, dealing with a language barrier, or having a mobility barrier restricting access to some community consultations hindered many of these residents from accessing the traditional channels of advocating. Southwest Scarborough is a place of great diversity and rich culture, and it is a waste to not extend targeted effort at including these populations in discussing neighbourhood improvements. The narrative of Scarborough as an auto-dominated place where active transportation efforts would be wasted is difficult to overcome. Safety is a right for all–not just those who can navigate the complicated waters of power and representation in this City. It’s time that all modes of mobility are legitimized in Scarborough.

This post by Ryan Anders Whitney is part of Spacing’s partnership with the Toronto Cycling Think & Do Tank at the University of Toronto. Ryan is an urban sustainability planner and current PhD student in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. This post is part of a larger research project lead by Dr. Paul Hess that has been funded through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

​Cities around the world have been increasingly investing in bicycle and other ‘sustainability’ infrastructure in an effort to move growing populations within fixed roadway space. Across Europe, North America, Australia, and South America, many cities are building bike lanes, inaugurating bike share systems, creating open streets / ciclovía programs, and pedestrianizing streets in an attempt to plan more ‘livable’ cities and mitigate the negative consequences associated with automobile development (e.g., air pollution, obesity, traffic deaths, traffic congestion, etc.). In Latin America, Mexico City has emerged as a regional leader based on its’ rapid implementation of such infrastructure.

Mexico City’s investments take place in the context of some of the most extreme consequences of automobile-based development found anywhere in the world. In the 1990s the United Nations infamously named the city as having the world’s worst air pollution, in part due to automobile exhaust that becomes trapped by the mountains that surround the city. While the city has made some coordinated and effective strides to improve air quality since then, pollution levels are creeping back up again to dangerous levels. Indeed, Mexico City’s traffic congestion remains legendary, being named in 2017 as the world’s most congested city.

Furthermore the city, and indeed country, are infamous in planning circles for high levels of traffic deaths. In 2015 412 pedestrians were killed in traffic incidents in Mexico City, a number that is common annually. This number would be approximately equivalent to a death rate of about 140 pedestrians per year in a city of Toronto’s size, or approximately 3.5 times Toronto’s 2016 rate (43 pedestrians were killed in 2016 making it the most deadly year for pedestrian deaths in the city in over a decade). Such an enormous death toll in Mexico City is despite the fact that over 50 percent of households do not have access to a motorized vehicle. However, in an urban region of well over 20 million people, the number of drivers adds up quickly.

In an attempt to relieve some of the aforementioned issues, Mexico City has deliberately moved from a city where it was nearly inconceivable to ride a bike to one that now leads bicycle planning in Latin America and beyond. For example, the city now has one of the largest bike sharing system in the Americas, approximately 200 kilometers of bike lanes, and one of the world’s largest ciclovía programs, muévete en bici (move by bike), where 55 kilometers of streets are closed to traffic and open to pedestrians and cyclists every Sunday. These initiatives have been very successful. For example, Ecobici, the city’s bike sharing system, is one of the most successful in the world in terms of a number of indicators including the number of trips per bike versus the number of residents; it is estimated that number of cyclists in the city between 2008 and 2016, although still a very small percentage of overall mode share, increased nearly six times; the Sunday ciclovía attracts approximately 35,000 people each week with a record of 75,000 having been recorded. The city is also home to a number of new municipal government policies and departments – including, but not limited to, Laboratorio para la Ciudad (Laboratory for the City) and the Autoridad del Espacio Público (Public Space Authority) – that are at the cutting edge of urban sustainability planning within Latin America, and indeed globally. All of this change has happened quickly in planning terms, in less than ten years.

​Many other sustainability initiatives, such as public space ‘revitalization’ and the pedestrianization of streets, have also been remarkably successful in Mexico City. For example, the city pedestrianized Madero Street in 2010, linking the country’s most famous public square (the Zócalo) to its most iconic theatre (Bellas Artes). The street might now be the busiest pedestrian street in all of the Americas attracting an estimated 200,000 pedestrians per hour. This street also exhibits some of the highest land values in the city, up 400 percent per square meter, and has attracted a number of international chain retailers, often being cited by local authorities as an example of commercial success.

​When examined more closely, however, the aforementioned sustainability investments fit comfortably within a larger trend where Mexico City is establishing itself as a global ‘it’ city, attracting unprecedented international attention. For example, in 2016 The New York Times named Mexico City as the world’s number one travel destination; a popular lifestyle blog, Amuse, discusses Mexico City’s reputation as “the new Berlin” specifically referring to how it has emerged over approximately the last ten years as a global creative epicentre attracting international designers, writers, and artists; recently Dazed stated that “Mexico City today has the freedom of downtown 80s” New York City.

The recent uptick of international attention is for a variety of reasons, such a the city’s unique culture, foodscape, art scene, decreased levels of violence when compared with other areas of the country, and a low cost of living (at least from the perspective of those who live in large cities in the Global North). However, sustainability planning is also a tactic that is now being used to sell Mexico City as a ‘green’ and ‘livable’ city. For example, another 2016 travel article from The New York Times discusses the newfound attractiveness of the city partially due to its “extravagant plans for new pedestrian areas”; Forbes gushes that Mexico City is now “safer, cleaner and more liveable than it used to be”; The Guardian explains how the city has been ‘cleaned up’ through neighbourhood revitalization and pedestrianization schemes.

Unprecedented global attention is rightfully attracting an increasing amount of local criticism. Much of this criticism highlights the implicit elitism and privilege of foreigners and wealthy Mexicans who can choose to live in the city’s most walkable, bikeable, and trendy neighbourhoods, a reality that is completely disconnected from that of most Mexicans. Furthermore, much of the popular global attention, especially within the English-speaking world, discusses the ‘discovery’ of Mexico City, ignorant of colonization and the fact that the city has long been a cultural leader, attracting notable artists, academics, and other professionals throughout its extensive and complex history.

This leads to the not-so-rosy side of the development of bike lanes and other sustainability infrastructure in Mexico City: the unintentional reinforcement of extreme class divisions that have always characterised the city. More specifically, much of this new infrastructure has been built in the most privileged, central-city, trip-dense areas of the city despite the need, existing cycling mode share, and lack of sustainability infrastructure in other, economically-disadvantaged areas of the city, such as Iztapalapa. In other words, a more trendy, sustainable Mexico City is leaving behind many residents who remain in poverty and disconnected from the cultural and political elites. In fact, many of these investments, such as the aforementioned pedestrianization of Madero Street, can be considered textbook examples of displacement, mainstream globalization, and gentrification. It is also important to note, that despite major improvements, by many accounts Mexico City still remains a scary place to ride a bicycle.

What do we do? For starters, we need to accept that this is an issue in many cities, not just in Mexico City, and that we as planners need to pay more attention to the local context of the cities in which we work. Cities are increasingly being planned based on global best practices that travel between cities through international exchanges and conferences. However, the implementation of such planning best practices can lead to varied outcomes within different political, cultural, and institutional contexts. An urban planning policy, for example, that has certain outcomes in New York City cannot be assumed to have the similar ones in Mexico City. Even more, sometimes the outcomes of a best practice policy may look similar on the surface (e.g., bike lanes or a bike share system), yet the underlying impacts in terms of gentrification, inequality, and institutional change can differ significantly. It is to these ‘less visible’ outcomes that planners need to turn in an attempt to create more equitable cities. Furthermore, in Mexico City, we must recognize that inequality is a systematic problem with deep historical roots that can be seen across sectors (including the destruction and associated relief efforts following the devastating earthquakes that hit the city and country on September 7th at 19th, 2017).

How bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure is implemented in Mexico City in terms of equality has important implications. As one of the world’s most populous and complex cities, it is a large-scale example of a global trend where planning is attempting to create more sustainable cities. The city also highlights how equality is often lost in the planning process. Can sustainability truly be achieved without increased equality? Or will “sustainability” continue to be something that disproportionately benefits the wealthy? Such questions are of utmost importance in an era of international economic policy, rising economic inequality, and increasing environmental degradation. How planners integrate sustainability with questions of equality will be the true test in creating more livable cities, in Mexico City and beyond. Toronto would do well to consider these issues as well, as the broadly downtown-centric bike plan slowly unrolls, with even less investment in the poorer suburban neighbourhoods lacking good transportation and access options.