Cycling Programs

Bike Parking Requests

The City provides public bike parking on streets, in parks and at civic facilities.  Property owners are responsible for bike parking on their properties.  Is there a place where more bike parking should be provided?  To make a request, e mail us your contact information and the number of racks you require.

Learn to Ride Safe Program

Bicycle Safety is No Accident

A child’s first vehicle is a bicycle. How we teach children to use this vehicle is an important step in ensuring that they develop safe and responsible cycling habits.

Children’s early experiences shape how they view the responsibilities and rights that accompany their use of the bicycle. Early in their development, cyclists need to be introduced to the safe and legal ways that they can use their first vehicle. As children are introduced to the proper use of their first vehicles, the attitudes, knowledge and skills that they gain can be applied later in life when they are learning to use a motor vehicle.

This program presents a comprehensive approach to teach bicycle safety to elementary students in grade three.

Effective Bicycle Safety

The primary focus of this program is for children in grade three.  Children under the age of nine generally do not have the ability to make good decisions in a consistent manner about their safety. They do not have the perceptual skills to be able to judge traffic speed, to imagine traffic from another road user’s point of view, or to understand the reasons for traffic laws.

Cyclists in this age group can benefit from a combination of classroom instruction and on-bike experience in a controlled environment. On-street practice, essential for developing the attitude and desire to use new skills, is more effective as students get older.

This program is based on principles of the Canadian Cycling Association CAN-BIKE program and is presented to students by trained and certified CAN-BIKE instructors.

What is special about this program?

• It is targeted at an age group at high risk of being injured in cycling falls and collisions.
• It reaches children at an appropriate level of development for bicycle safety training.
• It addresses injury prevention priorities.
• It develops children’s potential for on-road training with Kids CAN-BIKE in subsequent years.
• It uses trained instructors, certified under the recognized authority of the Canadian Cycling Association.
• It provides for flexible delivery of classroom and on-bike components.

The objectives of Learn to Ride Safe Program

Some children at a young age master the ability to balance a bicycle, but there is far more to riding than balance. Understanding traffic laws and patterns, being able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, understanding the consequences of actions, performing physical skills in a safe and consistent manner are as relevant on neighbourhood streets as they are on bike paths and major thoroughfares.