Start the Cycle
- Jeff Martin
- 10 Jun 2016
Borrow a bike like you borrow a book?
As summer creeps closer, children and young teens will be back at their favourite pastimes – playing, hanging out, and ideally, engaging in some more vigorous outdoor activities … like cycling.
But despite the city’s new-found love for bike culture, there are many youth across Hamilton who either don’t own a bike or can’t rent one from Hamilton’s very successful SoBi bike-sharing program, as you need to have a credit card and be at least 16. Start the Cycle – a bike-lending program – is trying to fill this socio-economic gap. It’s the missing link in Hamilton’s cycling strategy.
Start the Cycle is the first program of its kind in Hamilton. It was launched last spring by two McMaster University students: Charles Burke, a PhD in Transportation Planning, and Justin Hall, a MSc in Transportation Planning – both avid cyclists. They asked themselves: How do we create a new generation of cyclists?
“By developing a cycle culture from the ground up – targeting youth from low socio-economic backgrounds, new Canadians, as well as people who haven’t cycled before, we can develop a generation of cyclists that otherwise might have never existed,” says Burke. “We need them to grow up cycling.”
For larger families or single-income homes, even the relatively low cost of bike ownership can be significant. Costs multiply as children grow and bikes inevitably need maintenance. Add record levels of household debt and high levels of precarious employment, and the cost of a child’s bike quickly moves down – or off – the priority list.
Despite Hamilton’s goal of making the city “the best place to raise a child,” almost one quarter of people under 18 were living in poverty in 2013, meaning there are potentially thousands of children and young teens that this free bike-share program can help.
“One of our goals is to get children, youth, and economically disadvantaged people to ride bikes,” Burke explains. “It’s the greatest tool we can use to incorporate ten minutes of physical activity a day. We wanted to make the cost of riding a bike inexpensive, not prohibitive for people, and we wanted to use the library infrastructure. We already borrow books – so we’re just leveraging what is already there.”
Physical and mental health benefits are among the most important reasons to get more young people cycling, according to Burke. “Cycling can positively affect emotional well-being and the ability to cope with stress. It reduces the risk of depression, it can improve academic performance, and it simply gives kids an opportunity to explore their neighbourhood.”
According to Statistics Canada, one in three Canadian children under age 17 is faced with obesity. By incorporating an extra ten minutes of exercise into kids’ routine every day, the Ontario Medical Association reports potential provincial savings of $150 million dollars a year in direct health care spending.
While the program got its initial start at McMaster, Start the Cycle targets children aged 9-15 who would use their library cards to sign out a bike helmet, lock, and bike light for free, then return the gear within 48 hours. It’s that simple – just like signing out a book. During a 2015 pilot at the Hamilton Public Library Barton Street branch, the signees were 98 percent female between the ages of 10 and 12. The average age of boys who signed up was 15.
McMaster University and Mohawk College, where Start the Cycle first launched, are already operating successful free-bike programs for staff and students. McMaster loaned out over 500 bikes this past academic year and had 300 new unique users sign up. Mohawk students ranked the bike-share program in the top five of 100 initiatives.
There are benefits for libraries too, who see their resources shifting toward an online focus. “It’s an opportunity for libraries to redefine themselves and try new things out,” says Lynne Serviss, Service Librarian at McMaster’s Mills Library. “We’re trying to implement innovative programs and services focused on the needs of our users. Being able to sign out a bike brings students into the library. It enables us to build other connections and strengthen our role in the community.”
McMaster’s librarians are the bike share program’s biggest promoters. “There’s no extra work and it’s exciting to see people come in use things outside the ‘normal’ scope of library services,” says Serviss. “Fewer people are using ‘physical’ libraries, so we want and need to expand our services. Making bikes available is a logical and sensible addition.”
Start the Cycle will soon expand to Huntington and Westmount recreation centres in partnership with Hamilton Public Health, Hamilton Healthy Kids Challenge, maintenance partner Downtown Bike Hounds, and bike provider Jumpstart. It launches at noon on June 9 at Westmount Recreation Centre.
SoBi has helped renew Hamiltonians’ love affair with the bicycle, but it still leaves many without access. Start the Cycle won’t completely resolve bike accessibility for economically disadvantaged youth, but it’s a good start and a critical component of the city’s cycling strategy. It’s a step forward to improving the physical and mental well-being of young people across this city.
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