Project Objective
Our objective was to develop an effective and meaningful Public Communication and Engagement Strategy for a minimum bike grid in the City of Victoria.
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- Date: 2015-2016
- Client: City of Victoria, BC
- Partners: Alta Planning + Design, Gehl Architects, Urban Systems
As the provincial capital of British Columbia, Victoria is a beautiful city of 80,000 residents at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Taking advantage of its mild, snow-free climate, the City has set a bold vision to develop a comprehensive bicycle network for people of all ages and abilities.
200 residents came to hear Mayor Lisa Helps, Gil Penalosa of 8 80 Cities, and Mia Birk of Alta Planning + Design speak about the future of biking in Victoria, at the #Biketoria Summit.
The #BIKETORIA Engagement Labs displayed information of the bike network and collected feedback from over 140 residents.
The #BIKETORIA team presented information and collected feedback on the recommended network and priority corridors at the Neighbourhood Salons, held in three popular and accessible community hubs.
We also had the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), a diverse group of stakeholders, to held meetings to provide feedback and analysis on the proposed network.
We collected over 1700 survey responses throughout the campaign, and found 78% of the respondents agreed that the proposed bike network would connect them to the places they want to go. 70% agreed that they would bike more once the network is built.
We also asked residents for input and ideas on specific corridors that were proposed in the bike network, as the results will help troubleshoot and design challenging sections of the corridors.
“It’s great to see our city making cycling a priority. In a city of our size with our climate, it’s very easy to support a cycling habit to get things done, and efforts like these will make it even easier to get into that habit.” – Survey respondent
