UPEI student, cyclist reaches out to fellow Prince Edward Islanders to see why they don’t bike

Nathalia Cardozo, an environmental studies student at the University of Prince Edward Island, was somewhat surprised when she saw how many bikes are on the streets of PEI. But it’s not because there’s a huge number of them, she said.

What gave the Brazilian ex-pat pause, the CBC reported, was the relative lack of cyclists — a presence she expected would be much more visible in the east coast province.

An experienced cyclist herself, though, she can see why that may be. Having biked through Charlottetown, PEI amid some less-than-favourable conditions, there are risks, she told the CBC, that can conceivably keep people out of the saddle. “I take some courses during the night,” she described. “The lighting’s not so good, so the cars can’t see you. There are some points that you bike really near the cars, which can be a little dangerous.”

Those issues of low visibility and precariously narrow, shooting-gallery streets are joined, she argued, by a lack of bike lanes in the city. “Sometimes,” she said, “to go to recreation places, you don’t have good bikes lanes for that, so maybe that’s why people don’t bike more often.”

Cardozo aims to learn more solid answers to those questions. Putting her research skills to use, the young student has published a survey to ask her fellow Prince Edward Islanders what keeps them off their bikes. Narrow streets, inattentive motorists and inadequate lighting, as well as other concerns, are among the issues the survey addresses, and it’s part of her work as an intern with the sustainability office of Charlottetown, PEI. When her research is complete, facilitated by the online survey, Cardozo plans to submit her findings to the city — something she expects to do by the end of December. The data will inform the development of ways to improve that experience, hopefully to get more people out and riding.

Prince Edward Island cyclists can complete the survey by checking it out online.