A Future with Fewer Cars
When Urban Thrive first started, we could feel the tides were beginning to turn. Cycling culture was taking off, municipalities were declaring climate emergencies and developing climate plans, politicians were starting to talk seriously about housing, and awareness and support for 15-minute neighbourhood design was growing.
We first purchased the property at 2859 Richmond Road in September 2020, over 2 years ago (far too long - more on that in a future blog). As we head toward public hearings on both of our projects, I'm struck by the extraordinary progress that has been made over this time.
CYCLING
By this point, most people have noticed the rapidly growing interest in cycling, especially family cycling, and now understand the many benefits cycling provides. In the last 2 years, a Victoria-based cargo bike manufacturer and one of the largest cargo bike retailers in Canada opened shop here, as well as numerous ebike-specific retailers.
SFU's Cities, Health & Active Transportation Research (CHATR) Lab has been monitoring the impact of cycling infrastructure in Victoria closely since 2016. E-bikes have only been readily available for a couple of years but CHATR research shows 1-in-10 cyclists already use an ebike "always" or "often" and 23% cycle with children in the core municipalities (Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, and Oak Bay). It also shows widespread support for building more cycling infrastructure - 74% believe more bicycle infrastructure is a good idea.
Meanwhile, the proportion of residents who have a driver's license has been falling in recent years - 22% of residents between the ages of 18-34 in core municipalities don't have a license. Over the pandemic, 36% of households reported driving less.
In tandem with this cultural shift, the ecosystem of goods and services that support cycling as a lifestyle has been exploding - from waterproof jeans to BCAA for cargo bikes to bike valet services, and much more to come.
Duer “all-weather” jeans are waterproof, comfortable, and fashionable - reflecting a cultural shift towards cycling as a lifestyle and a seamless part of everyday life.
CAR-SHARE
Car-sharing as a service has never been better. At the end of summer, Evo grew their Victoria fleet from 80 to 125 vehicles and expanded their "home zone" into southern Saanich, including our 2859 Richmond Road neighbourhood! At the time of this writing, there were 2 Evo cars within a 6-minute walk of our proposed townhomes 😊
Modo is thriving too, with a growing number of members and vehicles - more than 28,000 members and 800 vehicles. Four-in-five Victoria Modo members (80%) don't own a personal vehicle, relying purely on sustainable transportation alternatives.
Evo’s expanded “home zone” now includes the 2859 Richmond Road neighbourhood.
TRANSIT
While transit ridership took a hit during the pandemic, the future is bright for bus riders. BC Transit has laid out it's ambitious Victoria Regional RapidBus Implementation Strategy, intended to "outperform personal automobiles in speed, comfort and reliability" while connecting regional municipalities. Investments from Provincial and Federal governments are improving transit service and rider experience while transitioning BC Transit towards a zero-emissions fleet. In the spring of 2023, BC Transit will implement its new Umo platform to introduce a range of modern payment methods - no more carrying exact change!
BC Transit will rollout a modern payment system, Umo, in the Spring of 2023 - an example of the increasing focus on rider experience and increasing quality of service.
A FUTURE WITH FEWER CARS
The trend is clear - cities around the world are unwinding their dependence on cars. Some examples are surreal (like Culdesac, a car-free community built from scratch) and some that feel like downright science-fiction (like The Line, an entire car-free city proposed in Saudi Arabia) but most changes are about gradually evolving our neighbourhoods for the better.
More than 200 communities across North America have now removed parking requirements in localized areas or citywide and a growing number of cities are establishing car-free zones. Locally, Saanich plans to tackle car parking in its Climate Plan, the City of Victoria is embarking on a Parking Modernization Project, and Esquimalt is in the middle of reassessing their parking requirements.
Cars aren't bad but they greatly harm our individual and communal well-being if not used in moderation, and we've allowed them to dominate our communities for far too long. In October's local elections, voters demonstrated resounding support for housing, sustainable transportation, and complete communities across Greater Victoria. After endless talk about housing, climate change, and road safety, our region is finally going to start taking bold action on these issues.
We hope our homes will be part of encouraging that shift. We hope they will shine a light on what neighbourhoods could be - healthier, safer, more sustainable, more people-centric places. We hope, as people see more and more families living car-free seamlessly and joyfully in their neighbourhoods, they will be inspired to live a little more lightly as well.