Building Cycling Infrastructure and Culture in Yellowknife, NWT

To: Bluedot Living 
From: Adam Denley, Co-founder, SHIFT NWT
Subject: Building Cycling Infrastructure and Culture in Yellowknife, NWT

I could ride a bike to work, but my bike’s not comfortable. 

I would ride a bike to work, but I don’t want to start my day all gross and sweaty.

I’d like to ride a bike to work, but I’ve got to drop my kids off at daycare on the way. 

I wish I could ride a bike to work, but I’m not fit enough and my balance sucks.

There are lots of reasons we end up using a car for every trip, but at SHIFT NWT, we want you to know what you’re capable of doing without a car, and we want you to know how good it feels doing it. 

SHIFT NWT is a Yellowknife-based, non-profit working to change the way we move through and interact with our streets. With the help of a small group of dedicated volunteers, we are working to get more people walking, biking, using transit, and spending time in public spaces. 

We first started thinking about active mobility when Becca, our daughters, and I moved temporarily to Denmark, where we saw a culture of activity supported and reinforced by safe and efficient walking/cycling infrastructure. We fell in love with it and we wanted people in our home to enjoy the same benefits that we had. 

We know that being more active in our daily lives and more community focussed improves our physical and mental health, the environment, public safety, the local economy, and it’s more affordable. That’s self-evident — and backed up by a mountain of research. 

So why aren’t more of us doing it? Here’s what people in our community say about the challenges of walking and biking in Yellowknife: 

• IT’S NOT THE COLD! Canadians embrace a myriad of winter activities. We have the tools and techniques to manage the cold. 
• Unreliable snow clearing. Most cities work hard to keep the infrastructure safe and efficient for people driving cars, but do they do the same for people walking or cycling? 
• Noise and exhaust on busy roads. 
• Dangerous intersections with distracted or overtaxed drivers. 
• Lack of sidewalks/bike lanes. Not everyone is comfortable riding with traffic, and those that are, know that it’s a risk. 
• Concerns about bike theft. Are there safe places to store a bike at home/work/stores?
• Many roads and intersections are dangerous for children. 

We need to make big changes to our street, but first, we need citizens to see what active mobility can do for them. To support this, SHIFT NWT has been busy in our community getting the word out through: 

• Introduction and education events around winter biking 
• Biking challenges and prizes 
• Group rides 
• A Human Library event and parklet installation by the Snow Castle
• Consultation and presentations for individuals, other NGO’s, and municipal and territorial governments 
• Outreach, such as trade shows and media interviews 
• Working with the GNWT to install the temporary Folk on the Rocks summer music festival (featuring a temporary bike lane and “Rock to Folk” bike bus)
• Advocacy at the municipal, territorial, and federal level 
• And lots more! 

Summer bike lending program: From May to October, we lend a variety of bikes to Yellowknife residents for free for two weeks at a time so that everyone can make cycling part of their daily routine! Our small fleet includes: 

• Comfortable dutch style bikes with step-through frames and cargo baskets for people who are accustomed to high performance/low-utility bikes
• Comfortable dutch style e-bikes with step-through frames and cargo baskets for people who need a little boost to get up that hill in the morning, 
• E-trikes for folks don’t feel like they can ride a regular bike safely
• E-cargo bikes for folks who need to transport important items or children. 

For more information about SHIFT NWT, click here.