Comparing real and fake bikeways and neighbourhood greenways

Bikeways and neighbourhood greenways are often built by cities in residential neighbourhoods as a way of creating safe routes for people on bikes without constructing separate bike lanes. They can be great — offering safe, quiet, pleasant routes through areas that may otherwise be car-centrically hostile. Or they can be little more than lip service, offering nothing more than a chance for a municipal politician to say they are doing something for cyclists without actually doing much of anything.

In this video, I ride two different bikeways in two different cities — Vancouver and Calgary — to compare the differences from a cyclist perspective. And to measure the differences, I'm using my Plus 1 Minus 2 Scale, in which a point is awarded for anything I come across that makes my bike trip better, and remove two for anything that makes it worse.

0:00 Introduction
1:50 Calgary
8:52 Vancouver
13:22 The winner is!

#cycling #bike #bikecommute

Sponsor
Two Wheel Gear: My favourite bike bags for commuters and urban cyclists https://www.twowheelgear.com/

Buy my book Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: https://rmbooks.com/book/frostbike/

I don’t really do proper product reviews, but here are some products that I’ve tried on this channel that I like. (Of course, you don’t need anything fancy to ride a bike, other than a bike, but these are Amazon affiliate links, and I get paid a small commission if you buy them 😉)

• Here's the winter bike I'm riding these days: https://bit.ly/2PhqUqF
• Cliq Smart Bike Light (nice rear brake light): https://amzn.to/39lfqwo
• RedShift Acrlight Smart LED Pedals (clever lights for your pedals): https://amzn.to/3NL1Npg
• Aftershokz Titanium bone-conducting headphones (if you want to listen while you ride): https://amzn.to/3e9Tofa
• JBL CLip 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (for your party-pace group rides): https://amzn.to/3pcMLPm
• Crane Bicycle Bell (the ding is sublime): https://amzn.to/3OwfZCu
• Ibex Merino Wool clothing (good for summer and winter): https://bit.ly/3xXkbEd
• Bicycle Cargo Net (why did it take so long for me to buy one of these?): https://amzn.to/31s1Ovu
• Vaude Cover II Rain Poncho (for higher-end, try Cleverhood or People’s Poncho): https://amzn.to/3jLkift
• Kryptonite U-Lock (your bike is going to get stolen eventually, sigh, but at least make it difficult on the thief): https://amzn.to/3tPWcGi
• Peak Design phone case (the one I use, paired with the Peak Design phone mount): https://amzn.to/3HGM0FU

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