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Commuters jamming Niagara roads; Fewer than 10 per cent of Niagarans regularly use bikes, buses or walk to work By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN Matthew O'Driscoll's work commute is a full hour, one way. That's by foot, not by car. The 24-year-old walks back and forth to the St. Catharines YMCA from his home near the Pen Centre several days a week. He also walks to school at Brock University, where he's studying biology. "I kind of like it," O'Driscoll said of his daily trek. "I just throw on my iPod and I can go anywhere, pretty easily. You just have to be able to manage your time." If he's in a hurry, he will tackle the seven-kilometre journey to work by bike or, in a pinch, by bus. O'Driscoll is a bit of an aberration among commuters in St. Catharines-Niagara: A new Statistics Canada report says only nine per cent of people regularly use bikes, buses or walk to get to work. On the other hand, O'Driscoll could be part of green-transit trend among young people. Statistics Canada reported nearly 20 per cent of Niagara workers aged 25 or younger regularly opted for the non-car commute in 2006. That jives with the national trend: 60 per cent of Canadians who reported using sustainable transportation were between the ages of 15 and 34. The latest census didn't ask why people made their travel choices. O'Driscoll figures transit is attractive for young green thinkers and those trying to save a little green. "The environment is an important reason; it's something I think about," O'Driscoll said. "But money is a big factor, too. I can't afford a car, but I can afford to walk." In St. Catharines, car use is still high, but slowly dropping. In 2006, 78 per cent of residents said they drove a car, truck or van as their usual mode of transportation, as opposed to 82 per cent in 2001. By comparison, transit use edged up from 3.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent overall. It's a small shift, but encouraging, said city transit manager Dave Sherlock. "Hopefully, as the younger crowd ages, they'll keep it up," he said, noting high school and university students make up 40 per cent of city bus riders. But Sherlock also said the transit commission has recorded two per cent increases in ridership two years in a row, including 4.8 million bus trips last year. In the next five to 10 years, Sherlock hopes service improvements will bump up ridership. Right now, only the route to Brock features 15-minute frequency, but Sherlock said that will eventually change. From 2001 to 2006, the number of cycling commuters also crept up, from 1.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. Niagara is a popular recreational cycling destination, but more work is needed to meet the needs of commuters, said regional planner Ken Forgeron. Forgeron, a member of the regional bicycling committee, said two-wheeled commuters will inevitably increase as Niagara Region and cities add more bike racks and cycling lanes. "The important thing is to make it safe," he said, adding the committee often hears from cyclists who want more bike lanes. Despite the slow progress, St.Catharines-Niagara still fairs poorly compared to other census metropolitan areas across Canada. Nearly 29 per cent of Montrealers, for example, said they used some form of green transit to get around. St. Catharines-Niagara ranked with Barrie and Abbotsford, B.C., as metropolitan areas with the fewest green commuters.
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