Victoria City Councillor Denise Savoie Sees Room For Improvement
Wheel Life column - January 20, 2001
by Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort - Victoria Transport Policy Institute

What can you do if you really love cycling and want to support it in your community? You might become a bicycle columnist for your local newspaper. Or you could become a cycling advocate and run for political office. Victoria City Councilor, Denise Savoie, chose the second option and has succeeded wonderfully.

Denise, a devoted cyclist for the past two decades, helped establish the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition (GVCC) and watched it grow to over 700 members. "It's been fun and challenging to start with a vision and see so many projects like the urban sections of the Galloping Goose Trail completed," Denise said.

Now as a city councillor, she finds that cycling has become part of the larger issue of sustainable transportation. "We can't hope to maintain our quality of life or the vitality of our downtown without also tackling the problems that result from overuse of automobiles," she explained.

She told us that Victoria's recently reinstated Bicycle Advisory Committee is hard at work making numerous recommendations. Cycle improvements for Finlayson, a work program that calibrates traffic lights to detect cyclists' presence, bicycle parking facilities downtown, and amenities in new buildings top their list.

Regional bicycle planning efforts, on the other hand, are just beginning. "Cycling is considered a good transportation option within neighbourhoods," Denise noted, "but its role as a transportation mode is not always recognized."

Denise said that there are serious obstacles to overcome due to the fact that commuters cross municipal boundaries. "We must not only maintain the 5 - 6% share that cycling represents in the regional transportation picture, but explore ways of growing that share."

Denise admits that cycling is not for everyone, even though we have the right climate for it and a strong bicycle culture. She would like to see a serious, well planned cycling strategy. At a Regional Planning Committee meeting this week, she was pleased to hear a recommendation for bicycle user groups and technical staff to work together to incorporate the problems and solutions they identify into the regional transportation strategy.

Denise has seen enormous progress since she first started advocating for improved cycling facilities years ago. But she reflected that if we truly want to live up to our title as Canada's Cycling Capital, we'll need better cyclist and driver education. We must also identify regional routes to and from major traffic generators and ensure those routes are cycle friendly.

What does Denise like best about bicycling in our community? "Cycling in the early morning; feeling, seeing, smelling the water around me." And least: "Drivers who pass me illegally on the Johnson Street Bridge, and the wind."

Today's recommended ride is one of Denise's favorite. This pleasant route along Dallas Road and Beach Drive is similar to the one we highlighted in our first Wheel Life Column on June 21, 1996.

When the weather warms up again, Denise recommends riding the Galloping Goose to Thetis Lake for a swim.

After four-and-a-half years as Wheel Life columnists we are taking a break in order to have more time for other activities. We would like to thank our readers, our Times Colonist editors, and everybody who has helped us over the years. We have enjoyed the experience. Good cycling to you all!