As bike advocates from across Ontario gather in Toronto this week, some are eyeing the upcoming provincial vote with the hope of making cycling an election issue.Ahead of the Ontario Bike Summit, which kicks off in Toronto on Monday, the Share the Road Cycling Coalition has released polling data that it says shows voters want the government to step up investment in bike infrastructure and programming. “There’s a demand amongst Ontario residents to cycle more, and to live in communities that promote cycling and active transportation,” said Jamie Stuckless, executive director of the coalition, which hosts the annual summit.“They want decision-makers to be building communities where they have choices of how they can get around, and we’re seeing that people want cycling to be part of that choice.”The polling data, which was commissioned by Share the Road and collected by the Nanos polling firm through an online survey, found that more than 6 in 10 respondents said they either strongly or somewhat agreed with the notion that getting more people cycling is beneficial for society and the provincial government should support it. Roughly half favoured the idea of Queen’s Park funding cycling as part of wider efforts to improve transportation. About one quarter somewhat agreed with the proposition they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who committed to funding bike infrastructure, like bike lanes or paved shoulders on highways, and 16 per cent strongly agreed with the statement. Stuckless said the coalition is non-partisan, and declined to endorse any party in the June provincial election. “Cycling is not a one-party issue,” she said, noting there is an all-party cycling caucus at Queen’s Park co-chaired by Algoma-Manitoulin NDP MPP Michael Mantha, Parry Sound-Muskoka Ontario PC MPP Norm Miller, and Burlington Liberal Eleanor McMahon. McMahon founded the Share the Road Cycling Coalition after her husba ...
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