LETTER: Greater Victoria population supports growing cycle network
Published 9:30 am Saturday, March 14, 2026
A recent letter comparing cycling in Greater Victoria versus the Netherlands makes some very misleading claims. The letter argues that the CRD, with an area of 2,430 square kms and a density of 175 people per square km, is too low density to support Dutch-style levels of cycling. Those numbers are very misleading since they include huge areas with little or no population. According to Statistics Canada, the Juan de Fuca Electoral area alone makes up more than half of the CRD’s land area, but had a population of just 399 residents in 2021, or 0.1% of the CRD’s total population.
Statistics Canada defines “population centres” to encompass built-up urban areas. For Greater Victoria, this population centre consists of more than 363,000 residents (88% of the CRD’s total population), living in an area of less than 223 square kms, resulting in an average population density of 1,631 persons per square km – nearly 10 times the number claimed by the letter-writer.
If you look at the areas where most of the protected bike lanes are concentrated, the population densities are even higher: the City of Victoria’s average population density was 4,406 persons per square km in 2021, while Esquimalt was 2,419, and the urban part of Saanich was about 1,700.
The proof is in the pudding. The CRD’s 2022 transportation survey found that 8% of trips in Greater Victoria were made by bike – and that was before much of the protected bike path network had been completed. That’s easily one of the highest levels in North America, and while not as high as the Netherlands, it is comparable with many European cities.
Steven Murray
Victoria