Assessing the impacts of 'all ages and abilities' cycling infrastructure: Insights from mid-sized Canadian cities

This thesis assessed cycling activity, perceived safety, and cycling accessibility after investments in cycling infrastructure in mid-sized Canadian cities. The research team worked with practitioners to conduct a natural experiment study investigating the 'all ages and abilities' network in Victoria, with Kelowna and Halifax as control cites. Cycling activity increased, marginally, in all three cities over 2016-2021. In Victoria, women experienced a greater increase in perceived safety. Unexpected events, such as COVID-19, influenced the ability to capture impacts using difference-in-difference approaches. For cycling accessibility, OpenStreetMap data and the r5r routing tool were used to identify complete communities based on access to destinations via low traffic stress cycling routes. Cycling accessibility increased in Victoria from 2016-2023, however, neighbourhoods that were not considered complete communities had a greater proportion of racialized residents and residents without post-secondary education. These findings underscore why cycling infrastructure must be equitably implemented to grow and diversify ridership.