CC Image courtesy of Alex Mazanik
Almost Two-Thirds in
Favour of Bike Lanes Overall
Toronto, June 27th
– In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1040 Toronto
voters, almost two-thirds (62%) say they favour bike lanes. Only one quarter
(25%) opposes bike lanes, with (14%) saying they do not know. Support for bike
lanes overall is up 5 points from March (March 16: 57%).
Respondents most
likely to say they favour bike lanes include those aged 34 and younger (65%) or
35-44 (68%), females (65%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (77%), with a
post-graduate degree (70%), living in East York (75%), and supporting the NDP
(76%).
Those that say they
bike in the city (71%) are highly likely to support bike lanes, and bicycle
commuters (90%) also overwhelmingly support bike lanes.
Support for Bloor bike lanes
The support for the
Bloor St bike is steady since March (March 16: 47%), with just under half (48%)
saying saying they approve of the lanes between Shaw Street and Avenue road. A
third (34%) say they disapprove of the bike lanes, fewer than 2 in 10 (19%) say
they do not know about the bike lanes on Bloor.
Of those that have
ridden a bike on these bike lanes almost three quarters (73%) say they approve
of them. The majority (52%) of those who have driven Bloor since the
installation now say they approve of the lanes overall.
Respondents most
likely to approve of these bike lanes include those aged 35-44 (55%), female
(50%), the least wealthy (58%) or $20,000-$40,000 (58%), with a post-graduate
degree (48%), and living in the Former City of Toronto (59%) or East York
(60%).
Support is highest
amongst bike commuters, with 8 in 10 (80%) saying they support the bike lanes.
Respondents most
likely to say they disapprove of the bike lanes on Bloor include those aged
45-54 (36%), 55-64 (38%), and 65+ (35%), males (39%), earning $40,000-$60,000
(47%), the least educated (41%) or with some college or university (42%), and
living in Scarborough (42%).
Cyclists using them
Of those that ride a
bicycle in Toronto, a third (33%) have used the bike lanes on Bloor St. Usage
is even higher (61%) amongst a small sample (n=96) of those that say they
commute to work by bicycle.
A third ride their bikes in the city
A third (34%) say
that they ride their bicycle in the city, and of these, more than a quarter
(27%) use their bicycle to commute to work or school.
“Approval of bike lanes is trending upward, even
amongst drivers, with a healthy majority saying they like them overall,” said
Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “Considering the report on the
pilot is due in a few months time, for cycling enthusiasts at least, now is a
really a good time for support to be rising.”
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
