Active Transportation Actions in Response to Covid-19

Health experts have given clear guidance that if we need to go out in public during the Covid-19 pandemic, we should maintain a two-metre distance from others. Cities are grappling with the fact that sidewalks are less than two metres wide. Add in a lamp post, a transit stop, or a queue of people waiting to enter a store, and maintaining two metres of space quickly becomes impossible, unless you step off the curb and walk in the road.

In many cities around the world, people walking and cycling are now being invited to do exactly that. With fewer cars traveling on the roadways, cities are closing curb lanes to cars and creating additional, temporary spaces to help cyclists and pedestrians maintain their distance.

Between April and August 2020, TCAT partnered with Share the Road Cycling Coalition to present six live webinars and develop the resources below for municipal staff about re-balancing streets and active transportation in the midst of a pandemic.

For the latest information on resources available, subscribe to our newsletters (Share the Road and TCAT) and follow us online @STRCycling and @TCATonline.

Webinar: Making Space - Moving Beyond Rapid Response

TCAT and Share the Road hosted their final webinar in this series on pandemic mobility on August 12, 2020. This webinar focused on how we can move beyond the initial rapid response phase, and how we can incorporate an equity lens into AT planning, featuring the following speakers:

TJ Clark, Manager, Urban Project at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) who funded the development of the COVID-19 Street Rebalancing Guide.

Brian Patterson, Principal & Active Transportation Planning Leader at Urban Systems, provided an overview of the COVID-19 Street Rebalancing Guide that Urban Systems created for FCM, and referenced BC’s related CDC recommendations for rebalancing streets.

Nahomi Amberber, Research Coordinator at Ryerson University and recent intern at TCAT, provided a snapshot of her research into Active Transportation and Health Equity.

This webinar was presented with the generous support of Urban Systems, in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Listen to the webinar: Making Space: Moving Beyond Rapid Response.

Webinar: Making Space - Global Perspectives on Pandemic Mobility

TCAT and Share the Road presented the fifth in a series of webinars about rebalancing streets to make them safer for walking and cycling on July 29, 2020. Participants in this live webinar heard how communities around the world are making changes to their transportation networks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Dutch expertise has informed and supported these changes, featuring the following speakers:

Lior Steinberg, an urban planner and co-founder of Humankind, spoke about interventions and long-term strategies in Tel Aviv where 11 streets have been opened to people, as well as vacation streets and parklets in Rotterdam.

Lennart Nout, a transport planner and urban designer at Mobycon presented highlights of Mobycon’s “Making Safe Space for Cycling in 10 Days”, a guide to temporary bike lanes in Berlin.

Amanda Ngabirano, a lecturer in Urban & Regional Planning at Makerere University and Chairperson of Uganda’s National Physical Planning Board, who shared the experience of Kampala City where only walking and cycling, no cars, are allowed in the central core during the Covid-19 lockdown.

This webinar was presented with generous support from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto in partnership with the Dutch Cycling Embassy.

Listen to the webinar: Making Space: Global Perspectives on Pandemic Mobility.

Webinar: Making Space - Biking out of the Pandemic

TCAT and Share the Road hosted its fourth “Making Space” webinar on June 10, 2020. This webinar featured a conversation exploring what we should be doing now, and what should we be planning for, to ensure that walking and cycling continue to be the most desirable and obvious choice as we emerge from the pandemic. Participants heard from Jessica Roberts, a principal at Alta Planning + Design, and from Isooda Niroomand, a School Travel Planner with Green Communities Canada in partnership with Vision Zero Toronto. This webinar was presented with generous support from Alta Planning + Design Inc.

Listen to the webinar: Making Space – Biking out of the Pandemic

Webinar: Making Space - Adapting to Change

TCAT and Share the Road hosted its third in this webinar series about rebalancing streets on May 27, 2020. Participants heard from Dr. Steve Farber about the results of a recent transit user survey conducted in Toronto and Dave McLaughlin and Shawn Smith from WSP Canada on topics such as end of trip facilities, managing transit demand and the expansion of outdoor commercial space. This webinar was presented with generous support from WSP Canada.

Listen to the webinar recording: Making Space: Adapting to Change

Webinar: Making Space - What, Where and How

TCAT and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition hosted our second in a series of webinars about rebalancing streets on May 13, 2020. Participants heard about what communities of various sizes have been doing across Canada to make more space for physical distancing. We were joined by the following speakers to hear more about how and where they are making more space for people walking and cycling:

Matthew Sweet, Manager of Active Transportation, City of Mississauga
Becky Katz, Transportation Services Manager of Cycling and Pedestrian Projects, City of Toronto: ActiveTO
Mike Anderson, Senior Transportation Engineer, City of New Westminster: Shared Space on McInnes Overpass

Listen to the webinar recording: Making Space: What, Where and How

Webinar: Making Space for Physical Distancing in Ontario

On April 22, TCAT and Share the Road Cycling Coalition co-hosted a webinar about rebalancing streets in Ontario.

The conversation included Dr. Anne Harris an Epidemiologist from Ryerson University to share her perspective about the need to provide more space for sidewalks and cycling in order to protect people from both COVID-19 and from traffic injury. Participants also heard from the City of Brampton and Bike Brampton about the interim bike lane that has been implemented on Vodden St to help connect residents to essential destinations and reduce congestion on nearby trails. Although she was unable to participate in the webinar in person, Brampton City Councillor Rowena Santos provided advice for rebalancing streets and a video greeting.

Listen to a recording of the full webinar: Making Space for Physical Distancing

Needed During Covid: Space and So Much More

The need for physical distancing, as well as the reduction in motor vehicle traffic, is a chance for cities to re-define and emerge from this crisis safer, more sustainable and more liveable than before. But as our work incubating cycling in suburban environments has taught us, space for active transportation is only part of the battle. People also need access to bicycles.

To find out more on the state of transportation under Covid, and cities’ creative responses, read our blog post:

Canadian and International Examples

Cities across Canada are taking a wide variety of approaches to re-balancing streets in response to Covid-19, including slow streets, health corridors, and curb lane closures for queuing.

Vélo Canada Bikes is tracking Canadian efforts in an online database.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre is tracking international examples.

To help visualize all the possibilities, we have compiled a Photo Collection of Examples from Across Canada.