Whitehorse applauded as a bike-friendly city

Whitehorse is the first northern city in Canada to win an award that celebrates bike-friendly municipalities. 

Burlington, Ont.-based Share the Road Cycling Coalition, an advocacy organization working to increase cycling accessibility, safety and education, gave Whitehorse a silver accolade. The organization has named 52 cities Bicycle Friendly Communities. Most cities are located in Ontario.

Whitehorse's network of mountain biking trails and separated, paved bike paths that are regularly maintained stood out to judges, said Subha Ramanathan, the manager of Bicycle Friendly Communities, the organization's award program, which helps communities appraise their cycling environments.

"This is the kind of safe cycling infrastructure we'd like to see in major hubs all across Canada," she said. 

But of course, Whitehorse didn't receive gold. So, what would it take for that to happen?

Ramanathan said the city should continue to consider lowering speed limits, especially downtown. 

"There seems to be greater engagement efforts to build on community enthusiasm for recycling and even e-bikes," she said, "so we'd like to see how that rolls out."

There's indeed more work to be done 

Forest Pearson, a member of the Whitehorse Urban Cycling Coalition, said he's surprised Whitehorse is regarded so highly. 

"On the other hand, it really speaks to all the work that's been done by the community at various levels to make travelling by bike more accessible to more citizens," he said, citing the widening of the Riverdale bridge and increased winter bicycle maintenance.

"Suddenly now people can get their groceries by bike and they didn't used to be able to do that," Pearson said.

Safety, however, is still something to be desired, he added. 

"A lot of people don't feel safe to ride," said Pearson, noting a lack of continuity, where paved bike paths are concerned.

"Great start, and I think we're moving the dial, but we're missing the boat on the next generation of kids that are gonna not choose cycling as a primary mode of transportation."