Cities – Shifter

The most important things your city can do to make it better for winter cycling

by Tom BabinCities January 24, 2021January 24, 2021Comments are Disabled

We often think of winter cycling as a personal thing, but there’s a lot a city can do to encourage more people to ride a bike year-round. Here are three things that a city can do to make bike commuting and transportation cycling easier in winter. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Follow Tom Babin on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Medium. …

Does your city hate you because you ride a bike? Mine kinda does

by Tom BabinCities December 21, 2020December 21, 2020Comments are Disabled

Do you ever have those moments on a bike when you feel like the city doesn’t really want you there? I decided to document some of those feelings on a recent ride.

Finding my way on a bike through the COVID-19 lockdown

by Tom BabinCities April 16, 2020April 16, 2020Comments are Disabled

I, like most of you, have been stuck at home for weeks now because of the COVID-19 lockdown, and I’m glad to be doing my part to help stop this virus. But it hasn’t been easy. Being stuck home for weeks, frankly, sucks. But thankfully, I’ve still got my bike, and I still live in …

Five things North American cities can learn about cycling from Manila

by Mandy JohnsonCities November 7, 2019November 7, 2019Comments are Disabled

While cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have adopted the bicycle as the future of transportation, it’s simply not the case for other places in the world. But there’s just as much to learn from those who lack as there is with those who prosper. So today, let’s take a look at the Philippine capital city of …

Urban transportation is being disrupted, but it isn’t big tech that’s doing it

by Tom BabinCities October 31, 2019October 31, 2019Comments are Disabled

The cry went out as soon as the news hit Twitter: “No! Now I’m going to have to buy a second car!” That was the response from a co-worker when the news broke recently that Calgary, where I live, was among the handful of North American cities being abandoned by car-sharing company Car2go. When the …

Testing the best ways to get around a city: Bike, e-bike and e-scooter

by Tom BabinBikes, Cities October 23, 2019October 23, 2019Comments are Disabled

It’s an urban challenge we’ll all run into at some point: You need to get across the city quickly. What’s the best way? To answer that, I decided to test three transportation options. My own bike. A dockless shared e-bike from Lime. A dockless shared e-scooter from Lime. This isn’t only about speed. I’m also …

Will cyclists ever get the rolling stops they want?

by Tom BabinCities March 21, 2019March 21, 20192 Comments

For 30 years it’s been whispered about, a bicycle urban legend passed among envious cyclists throughout North America, every few years rearing its head with a little piece of news that brings hope, then despair. And now, it’s come up again here, in my city of Calgary. It’s the Idaho stop law. In reality, it’s …

How Dutch-inspired urban design inspired Vancouver’s bike boom

by Tom BabinCities September 25, 2018September 25, 20182 Comments

Over the past decade, Vancouver has undergone a bike renaissance. Separated bike lanes have been installed, a bike-share program has been implemented, and more and more people are riding bikes for transportation. Even a downtown business group that once fought bike infrastructure has become supportive of cycling. But these big changes didn’t come from thin …

Finding glimpses of bike-friendliness in your everyday life

by Tom BabinCities August 13, 2018One Comment

Sometimes it can be difficult for us North Americans to truly envision a bike-friendly city. What with our car dominance and the pittances we throw at cycling, breaking the development mould that has dominated for the past half century can be a difficult mental leap. But lately, I’ve been thinking about little spots in every city …

The little compromises that can ruin your bike commute

by Tom BabinCities July 12, 20182 Comments

If you commute by bike, you’ve come across the little compromises. These are the little bits of missing bike infrastructure – a lane that ends prematurely, a painted lane instead of a separated lane, a gap between two bike paths. In many North American cities, these little compromises are everywhere. On their own, they are …