The Province of British Columbia has a responsibility to ensure that provincial highways work for all road users, which requires taking all transportation modes into account. 

Cycling for transportation, recreation, and sport are all popular options for British Columbians, and cycling could continue to grow dramatically with the right investments and policies.

Furthermore, in addition to ensuring the safety and comfort of many residents, high quality cycling facilities on rural highways could unlock millions of dollars in cycle tourism across BC. 

The Provincial Policy Context

A few years ago, the Provincial Government increased speed limits on many sections of highway (totalling 1,300 kilometres), several of which are popular cycling routes and in many cases, the only reasonable route between communities. 

Unfortunately, the Safety and Speed Review did not evaluate the cycling conditions nor did it consider the impact of the speed limit increases on cyclists.

In 2016, the Province also released Moving to Vision Zero: Road Safety Strategy Update and Showcase of Innovation in British Columbia, which contained many important recommendations that, if implemented, would make our roads much safer for everyone cycling, walking and driving. 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of these policy measures have not been implemented, and infrastructure changes have not been made on the scale needed to make much of a difference.

This inaction is unfortunate, because we’ve known what the numbers have been saying about highway safety issues for many years. 

The Research

In its landmark review of cycling safety research, UBC’s Cycling in Cities team asserted the following:

Numerous studies found that higher motor vehicle speeds or speed limits were associated with increased injury severity for cyclists, including serious head injuries and death.

In 2015, the B.C. Government acknowledged in its Road Safety Strategy that:

Since 2002, there has been virtually no progress in achieving better injury and fatality outcomes for pedestrians and cyclists, who are among the most vulnerable and least protected types of road users.

The Bottom Line

The BCCC recommends that speed limit increases not be considered on provincial highways without the provision of adequate facilities for cyclists of all ages and abilities, and that a review of cycling facilities, maintenance procedures and crashes be undertaken on a bi-annual basis.

Adequate cycling facilities can be provided through a variety of means, including:

• Sufficiently wide paved shoulders that are well maintained and kept free of road debris

• Physically separated bike lanes, preferably directional and properly integrated into intersection design;

• High quality bike paths within highway rights-of-way, with safe and efficient crossings of intersecting roads;

• A high quality bike path outside of a highway right-of-way could be an option if it involved no substantive increase in distance or grade.