What do you think is the most exciting bike city in North America? New York? Montreal? How about ... Edmonton?!

Yes, the northern Canadian city's council has just pledged $100M toward cycling over the next four years, which could be a massive improvement for everyone in the city.

But the question is how? At a time when bike advocates are struggling in so many cities to win investments from political leaders, what happened that enabled Edmonton to make this potentially transformative change?

When I received an invitation from Edmonton City Councillor Michael Janz to explore, I jumped at the opportunity.

0:00 Introduction
1:50 Coun. Michael Janz explains why he cares about cycling
3:45 City engineer explains the plan
4:26 What's this development guy doing talking about urban transportation?
7:15 Bike advocate on how it all came together
8:03 Bike-friendly business owners
9:16 Another bike-positive city councillor?!
11:33 How will the city change?
12:58 A community approach to cycling advocacy
16:30 My takeaways for your city

#cycling #bike #commuting

Big thanks to Two Wheel Gear for being Shifter’s bag and pannier sponsor. Not only are their products great, but they are also amazing people who care deeply about urban cycling. They support me, so please support them: https://www.twowheelgear.com/

Buy my book Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: https://rmbooks.com/book/frostbike/

I don’t really do proper product reviews, but here are some products that I’ve tried on this channel that I like. (Of course you don’t need anything fancy to ride a bike, other than a bike, but these are Amazon affiliate links, and I get paid a small commission if you buy them 😉)

• Here's the winter bike I'm riding these days: https://bit.ly/2PhqUqF
• Cliq Smart Bike Light (nice rear brake light): https://amzn.to/39lfqwo
• RedShift Acrlight Smart LED Pedals (clever lights for your pedals): https://amzn.to/3NL1Npg
• Aftershokz Titanium bone-conducting headphones (if you want to listen while you ride): https://amzn.to/3e9Tofa
• JBL CLip 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (for your party-pace group rides): https://amzn.to/3pcMLPm
• Crane Bicycle Bell (the ding is sublime): https://amzn.to/3OwfZCu
• Ibex Merino Wool clothing (good for summer and winter): https://bit.ly/3xXkbEd
• Bicycle Cargo Net (why did it take so long for me to buy one of these?): https://amzn.to/31s1Ovu
• Vaude Cover II Rain Poncho (for higher-end, try Cleverhood or People’s Poncho): https://amzn.to/3jLkift
• Kryptonite U-Lock (your bike is going to get stolen eventually, sigh, but at least make it hard): https://amzn.to/3tPWcGi
• Peak Design phone case (the one I use, paired with the Peak Design phone mount): https://amzn.to/3HGM0FU

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