Please send any comments
or suggestions to
Traffic Services

An electronic survey primarily targeting staff of major urban core private sector employers, as well as universities and all three levels of government within the downtown was conducted during the summer of 1999 in order to examine the potential for increased use of cycling as an alternative to other transportation modes.

A recent national survey[1] suggests that Canadians who cycle travel an average of 5.6 kilometers each way. Using Halifax Hall in the peninsular downtown core as a centroid, most of the downtown core destinations and the densest commuter origins are contained within this radius. Of the 807 respondents to the 'Streets for Cycling' survey, 46% live in Peninsular Halifax or the Dartmouth community across Halifax Harbour, many of which could be served by the Brunswick Street cycle route.

About three of every five survey participants were male. The majority (sixty-two percent) were between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four, and thirty-three percent were between the ages of sixteen and thirty-four.

Seventy-eight percent of the survey participants were in professional, management or technical occupations. It should be noted that while various forms of media, including print, word of mouth and electronic were used to raise awareness of the survey, most respondents worked for major employers in downtown Peninsular Halifax and had immediate access to a computer.

Twenty-one percent of those surveyed walk to work or school on a regular basis. Another thirty-nine percent walk to work or school at least once a month. Although National data is not directly comparable, it suggests 42% of Canadians walk to work or school 'at least sometimes'. [2]

While almost half of the respondents travel by car, a bicycle is used every day or several times a week by almost 27% of the participants. Another 41% use their bicycle to commute to work or school at least once a month. National [3] data suggests that 19% of Canadians bike to work or school 'at least sometimes'
The survey asked respondents for their opinion as to whether if certain bicycle facilities were improved locally, would it help them to decide to ride a bicycle to work/school more often. The following chart summarizes the participant. s responses in the 'would help' category by type of facility improvement:
Would Help.
Responses by type of facility improvements

Facility Improvement	Count	% Total	Total Response
Indoor Bike Parking	293	37.3	785
Secure Outdoor Parking	386	49.4	781
Showers at Work/School	308	39.2	786
Dedicated Bike Lanes	667	84.2	792
Shared Inline Skate/Bike Lanes	515	65	792
Bicycle Racks on Transit	231	29.5	782
Better Cyclist Education	317	40.4	784
Better Enforcement of Traffic Laws	386	48	784
Licensing and Testing	162	20.8	780

The majority of respondents felt that dedicated bike lanes and shared in line skating/ bike lanes would help to increase their cycling/skating use. Almost half indicated that better enforcement of traffic laws and secure outdoor parking would help improve cycle use to work and school. A significant number also felt that better cyclist education would encourage cycle usage.   Improved facilities such as the availability of showers at the work place and school, and indoor parking was also identified by many to be an important factor in their choice of bicycling as a mode of transport.

Distribution of Respondents

The maps on the following two pages illustrate the distribution of residents and work/school destinations among the survey respondents. Places of residence and work/school were mapped using postal code and work/ school locations provided by the respondents.  The deepest colors indicate the densest residence and work/school zones.

The highest density of both residence and work/school distributions occurs, not surprisingly, in the urban core. A large number of HRM's citizens work in the urban core and this is reflected in the density of work/school locations in the Destinations Map.