this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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That would work for much of the population that lives within 100 miles of the US border, but there is a lot of rural and green space in Canada, and bikes aren't great in Canadian winters. Canada needs good car options too.
84% of Canadians live in cities, and that's where good urban infrastructure is the most needed.
Making car-centric infrastructure mostly electric will help a bit, but not a whole lot.
And spending that money to get us cheaper transit in the long term will probably also free up more resources to help the remaining 16%.
Oh, I agree that mass transit wouldn't really work in areas that aren't as dense, but we should definitely have those where possible. I didn't mean to say we don't need good car options, but we should also have more options besides just cars
Now regarding bikes and winter, I'd say that's more of an infrastructure problem. Finland also has terrible winter, yet they can bike as usual. You should watch this video if you are interested in this theme: "Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)"
I understand that infrastructure is more important to be able to cycle in the winter, even eclipsing temperature in very cold areas. I live in an area where there is no bicycle infrastructure, I'm actually 100x safer riding my motorcycle well below freezing on the road, than riding my bicycle on a beautiful fall day. And I do, I have gear for it .There are cities though, where temperatures don't regularly get super cold and people don't actually have the clothing and gear to cycle in the winter. I would guess in those areas, temperature is more of a factor. In areas where winters are consistently very cold, people already have what they need and are able to cycle if the infrastructure is there.
That's the thing, with infrastructure you don't need special gear to ride in winter. You commute on your commuter bike in your regular clothes that you use for everything else. You don't need to run crazy speeds or jump over crazy hills, you ride you commuter with the same intensity you would have if you just walk.
In cities at least, bikes are just as good as cars in winter. Your city just needs to put as much effort in to building and clearing bike lanes as it does car lanes. Places that give a shit actually plow and salt their bike paths and bike lanes.
Your bike has a heater built-in and a way to block out the cold wind and/or rain?
That's usually what people mean when they mention vehicles in the winter, not just the road being cleared
That's just a matter of having the proper clothing.
Having ridden bikes in snow (and would be willing to again): yeah, no, they're a very different experience and to pretend otherwise is to engage in a shocking level of willful ignorance