Matt Pinder and the benefit of cycling cities

From childhood to fatherhood, cycling has been a lifelong source of joy and independence for Matt Pinder. It has also been a professional pursuit and a personal passion: today, Matt is a transportation engineer, community activist, and imagines the future of transportation on his blog, Beyond the Automobile.

From the CreativeMornings Ottawa stage at Bayview Yards, Matt drove home a key message: “When you build a city for cycling, everyone benefits.”

Matt started by taking us on an armchair journey to the world’s most famous cycling city, Amsterdam. Travelling there for a course called Planning the Cycling City, Matt was exhilarated to see people of all ages riding bikes, solo and in groups, in rain or shine. The abundance of well-connected bike paths were often faster than driving, brought about more serendipitous encounters, and reduced noise and traffic congestion. In other words, everyone was benefiting. 

The course fuelled Matt’s professional raison d'être: to translate this idea of the cycling city from the Netherlands to Canada. He’s since gotten creative with engineering and drawn inspiration from other communities to innovate beyond existing city transportation policies—many of which favour cars.

Ottawa, Matt contends, is well positioned to become more of a cycling city. It can be easy to overlook our extensive network of National Capital Commission multi-use pathways. Or the fact that Ottawa is home to many firsts in Ontario, including the first Dutch-style protected intersection and first protected bike lane (along Laurier Avenue West). 

The way we move around our city can change—and we all have a role and creative vision in making that happen. Matt ended his talk by urging us to support walkable developments, dare to reimagine our communities, and yes, to advocate for cycling improvements as a way to build a city that benefits everyone. 

Thanks again to Matt for his insightful talk! To learn more about Matt’s work, follow him on Twitter and check out his blog, www.beyondtheautomobile.com. Watch his talk here.