The development of a long-term city-wide programme to encourage people to use bikes and e-scooters as safe and attractive transport options is in motion, and Hamilton City Council want to hear from you.

“We know that less than 4% of Hamiltonians use bikes as their main form of transport. This means there is a big opportunity to get more people on bikes and e-scooters, and using them more frequently, particularly for short trips around the city,” says Councillor Angela O’Leary.

“We want to hear the community’s views on what would make Hamilton a safe, easy and fun city to get around by bike or e-scooter,” says Councillor O’Leary.

“60% of all car trips within Hamilton are under 5km, with over 20% being less than 2km. A 5km trip would take around 20 minutes by bike,” says Council’s Infrastructure Operations General Manager Eeva-Liisa Wright.

“People have told us that the main barrier to biking is concern for their safety. Others include weather, distance, lack of access to a bike, no end-of-trip facilities, a need to transport others, the need to wear a helmet, and a lack of information on biking,” she says.

To address some of these barriers, we’ve developed four themes or priority areas and will be seeking community feedback on these from 22 October - 18 November. Let us know what you think and what would encourage you to get on a bike or e-scooter.

This feedback will help shape the final programme, which will likely include a range of projects and actions, such as new bikeways, safety and education initiatives, policy, regulation and better end-of-trip facilities.

We expect some actions will be implemented quickly, while others may be more complex requiring further study or investigation. The final programme is likely to be confirmed in early 2021 and will expand on existing biking projects being delivered under Council’s existing 2015-2045 Hamilton Biking Plan.

Keep an eye out too for pop-up information events around the city in late October and early November.

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