The role of the bicycle, through the expansion of e-bikes and adaptive styles such as adult trikes (three-wheeled bicycles) and recumbent trikes improve the mobility and accessibility of older adults and people living with a range of disabilities. If elected leaders, and people in general, shifted their view of the bicycle as a mobility device, instead of a barrier to accessibility, or worse, a political wedge issue, more people would discover how practical and affordable biking is for people of all ages, abilities and incomes.
(Alison Stewart, our Director of Advocacy and Public Policy deputing at Executive on how to shift the culture and make Toronto’s Third Seniors Strategy more accessible by treating bikes as a mobility option like wheelchairs, walkers or canes.)
When the needs of seniors are better reflected in the public realm, everyone benefits. Through funding by the Federal Government’s Active Transportation Fund and the Echo Foundation, Cycle Toronto explored pathways to mobility: connecting older adults to cycling. This project set out to create meaningful opportunities for older adults to discover cycling as a viable mode of transportation to improve their health and wellbeing, as well as contribute to making Toronto a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible cycling city for people aged 65+.
In addition to the research and policy analysis that was involved, the heart of the project was the community outreach and engagement activities that saw us deliver four interactive workshops on the ‘Benefits of Cycling for Older Adults’ in Scarborough. These special workshops included encouraging participants to ‘try a bike’. View our photo gallery.
We discovered first hand that when given the opportunity, support and access to bikes, older adults want to bike more. Age is no barrier to discovering the joy and freedom of biking. We also learned that seniors don’t consider themselves as “that old”, and don’t resonate with being “seniors”.
(Year-round cyclist and member of Cycle 55+ Judith Butler, age 78, featured among the people who bike regardless of winter. Image: Toronto Star)
In addition to making recommendations that we will be advancing at City Hall, the pathways to mobility project will shape Cycle Toronto’s program offering and advocacy efforts in the years to come. Our report will be published in the spring.
(Three happy women participants who had never biked before, who now want to bike more after discovering how fun and easy biking can be.)
(Our older adult cycling facilitators, Rhoda Potter on the far left and Douglas Yardley on the far right, pose with participants after discovering the joy of riding a BikeShare e-bike for the first time, at the Agincourt Public Library.)
(A happy woman who hadn’t biked in a very long time tries the e-trike to get re-familiarized with biking before moving to a Bike Share bike, at the L’Amoreaux Community Recreation Centre.)
