We hear a lot about “privileged cyclists” on social media, especially from people complaining about cyclists on the roads and (ironically) the existence of separated bike lanes that keep cyclists off the roads.
Here are the facts. According to the City of Ottawa website, Ottawa has over 12,400 km of roads, 2,125 km of sidewalks, 325 km of multi-use pathways and 340 km of on-road bicycle lanes (that includes all the lanes with just paint or maybe some flexiposts in summer, so not true safe infrastructure).
In the 2023 Velo Canada Bikes Pedal Poll, just shy of 10% of people counted were riding bikes, while over 11% were walking. Sadly, counting mode share of people using public transit (buses) was not possible.
Even taking into account that a lot of Ottawa is actually rural, space for cars vastly dominates, and options for people who want to get around any other way are extremely limited.
Who is really privileged when less than 3% of the vehicle transportation space is given to bicycles (and even that is often just the shoulder of a car road)? Pedestrians fare a little better, with 17% of space for sidewalks. But don’t forget, car drivers and people on bicycles both use walk too, at least sometimes.
These comparisons don’t even consider the width of the spaces available to each mode. Bicycles and people walking take up far less space than cars, but many of our bike paths and sidewalks are so narrow it is impossible to be side-by-side with a companion, or even use a wider vehicle like a wheelchair or cargo bike. In comparison, every single car lane has space for at least two people sitting side-by-side.