Data on Cycling Behaviour in Toronto

Data on cycling participation in Toronto (as in most North American jurisdictions) is somewhat limited. Surveys focusing exclusively on cycling are rare and data sets narrow. In order to more fully understand what we do and do not know about cycling and cycling behaviour in Toronto, George Liu, our numbers analyst, spent the summer of 2012 comparing and combining data sets from the Canadian Census and Ontario's Transportation Tomorrow Survey (Data Management Group University of Toronto). He was able to create new data sets and identify new relationships by ward. He also used information from the City of Toronto Cycling Study Tracking Report 1999 and 2009 and the Toronto Public Health Department's report The Road to Health: Improving Walking and Cycling in Toronto, 2012.

Emily Watt and Katie Wittman, our cartographers, translated the data into maps of cycling behaviour, demographics and infrastructure in Toronto. Emily and Katie also integrated the University of British Columbia's Bikescore/Bikeability data into the maps. 


Key Data Sources
Transportation for Tomorrow Survey, 2006 
• “Snapshot” of transportation patterns for one day
• Cyclist specific trip and per person data
• Census (Ward Profiles), 2006
• Demographic information

Bike ScoreTM, 2012 
• Determined ward average on a scale of 0-10
• Bike Lane Score
• Hills Score (Elevation Change)
• Destinations & Road Connectivity Score
• Overall bike Score

City of Toronto Cycling Study: Tracking Report (1999 and 2009)
• Measures cycling attitudes, frequencies and attributes across 4 city districts

City of Toronto Open Data, 2012
• Shape files used for mapping.

City of Toronto Ward information sheets (based on census data 2006)