On Tuesday June 26 Vancouver became a city of cyclists. A conference bringing lobby groups, academics and experts, politicians and industry heads together, the European Cyclists’ Federation managed to draw large crowds to BC’s most famous port for the annual Velo-city conference.

So what’s been happening since  Velo-city 2012 kicked off? Here’s a little synopsis so far.  

Kate Webb of the Vancouver Metro writes about Velo-city’s crowd this year in Vancouver as “bringing together 850 participants from 40 different countries”, all in the interest of raising awareness and bringing light to the many benefits of cycling, and the necessity of creating bike-friendly cities.

Webb continues on with the importance of Velo-city as a medium for information sharing, as it gives Vancouverites and Canadians an opportunity to get engaged with conference participants from different counties and different fields of cycling expertise.

 Frank Luba of The Province points out that Velo-city 2012 is already placing significant emphasis on big issues like bike sharing schemes. Quoting participant Sharen Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Centre the University of Berkely, California, Luba presents Velo-city as a tool that can outline the importance of making cycling accessible to citizens.

 “Providing people with choice and range of mobility options – particularly ones that get people out of vehicles – are important to consider and promote.”

Of course, while promoting cycling as a means of transportation is ultimately good and undoubtedly well-intentioned, not all methods are measured equally. Tom Babin of the Calgary Herald brought to light the less than eager reaction received from Calgary’s initiatives on becoming more cycle-friendly.

Referencing Gil Penalosa of 8-80 cities, Babin puts emphasis on the discussed topic of the unnecessary nature of “nice-to-haves” like shared lanes [with vehicles], painted signs and other such interventions that do not necessarily increase the number of cyclists on the road.

John Ackerman of News 1130, quotes conference Chair Paul Dragan that Vancouver is still a “starter-city”, and accordingly, it faces many more challenges on its road to becoming a truly bike-friendly city. So it seems that Vancouver still has a lot to learn, and with experts from around the globe, Velo-city is helping it get there.  

Along these lines, Carlton Ried of Bike Biz News outlines Velo-city as a unique opportunity for Vancouver’s bicycle infrastructure to be examined by experts and people from countries where cycling is an intergral part of life, in order to generate ideas on how to get more people cycling in Vancouver and North America.

 On the academia front, Bill Bean of the Waterloo Record states that research students from the University of Waterloo turned up at Velo-city to break the common myth that only those without the financial capacity to drive choose to cycle; but rather that more and more and more people with above-average income are ditching their car keys for their bike lock.  

Discussing things from cargo bikes, to bicycle lanes, to bike share schemes, and to the most-controversial helmet laws , Vancouver’s Velo-city is already making a buzz among experts, lobby groups and bike enthusiasts alike, only two days in. Departing on Friday, Velo-city 2012 looks like it’s already well on its way as a grounds to raise important questions, aggregate key information, and get everyone collaborating on the future of cycling in Vancouver and North America.

Metro Vancouver:
http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/278023/velo-city-conference-draws-hundreds-of-cycling-experts-to-vancouver/
The Province:
http://www.theprovince.com/travel/Expert+peddles+bike+benefits/6847022/story.html
Calgary Herald:
http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2012/06/26/expert-says-cities-shouldnt-bother-with-half-hearted-bike-infrastructure/
News1130:
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/377168--velo-city-global-2012-conference-opens-today
Bike Biz:
http://www.bikebiz.com/index.php/news/read/velo-city-kicks-off-in-vancouver/013273
The Record:
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/750633--cycling-study-in-region-busts-myths

About the Author

Alexandra Cutean is the Communications Assistant at ECF and a long-time cyclist. With a background in conflict resolution and European Affairs, she spends most of her spare time looking for new places to visit, and mapping out bike routes.