The History of Cycling in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

A large group of children ride bicycles around a fenced outdoor basketball court during what appears to be a cycling class or event. An adult in a red jacket stands in the foreground, overseeing the activity. Several basketball hoops are visible, and spectators or parents stand along the fence on the right. The background includes suburban houses and trees under a cloudy sky.

 

Written by Ian MacLeod with support from Jackie Chow

 

People on bikes in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (MRPM) have been advocating for safer cycling and active transportation for more than 30 years. This work is carried on today through HUB Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows, a chapter within HUB Cycling Metro Vancouver, the region’s safe cycling coalition.

You can help to build a greener, healthier community by joining HUB MRPM, or by expressing your support for safe cycling and other modes of active travel when you talk to municipal council members, city staff and your neighbours.

 

Cycling in the North Fraser
 

The 1994 Bikeways Plan, prepared jointly by the municipalities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, identified our area as "one of the best cycling environments in the Lower Mainland". 

In the years since 1994 there has been a slow but steady increase in the number of safer cycling routes in MRPM, and in support for cycling across Metro Vancouver.

  • As of 2019, there were 303 kilometres of designated pathways, maintained trails and marked bike lanes in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. HUB MRPM’s website offers a list of safe local cycling routes to help families explore their community by bike and to highlight opportunities for advanced cyclists.
  • Over the past decade, Maple Ridge has accelerated its investment in multi-use pathways, for example on 117 Avenue (completed), 123 Avenue (underway) and along the Fraser River in Port Haney (in development).
  • Off-road cycling connections to Port Coquitlam, Langley and Surrey were included in the Pitt River and Golden Ears bridge projects.
  • Bike racks have been installed on TransLink buses, opening up the opportunity to travel further by bike -- to work, shopping or recreation.
  • There’s growing interest in tourism-focused cycling. Local residents and visitors have made increasing use of the Fraser River/Pitt River dyke trails, one of the premiere recreational cycling destinations in southwest B.C.

HUB MRPM has mobilized to promote recreational and transportation cycling through participation in events like Earth Day and through ongoing discussions with local governments. HUB conducts cycling education programs, bike repair clinics, and its popular Cycle Recycle, a bicycle recycling program.

Unfortunately, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows continue to lag in terms of the number of people who ride to work by bike. The 2019 regional State of Cycling report, prepared by HUB Metro Vancouver and TransLink, estimated that only 1 in 200 commuters (0.5%) travel to work by bike in MRPM. This compares with 1 in 17 (6%) in the City of Vancouver. 

One key problem is that commuter routes such as Dewdney Trunk Road and the Haney Bypass are not safe for cycling. The B.C highways ministry and local governments have not yet made space for cycling as a commuter option. It's a chicken-and-egg dilemma. There aren’t enough cyclists on the road to build public support for new investments in cycling safety along Dewdney Trunk and the Lougheed; meanwhile, surveys show that many people are afraid to ride their bikes on these direct routes because they believe it’s not safe.
 

Why Does This Matter?
 

This matters for quite a few reasons but here’s seven:

  1. Cycling is a healthy activity that keeps people fit from childhood through old age.
  2. Cycling is an emission-free and noise-free activity that reduces the number of motor vehicles on our roads. The presence of people on bikes and bike lanes on residential streets calms traffic.
  3. Cycling can reinforce the public transit system by allowing commuters to ride to their bus, train or Skytrain connection.
  4. Cycling builds community by increasing our awareness of neighbourhoods, local landmarks and green spaces.
  5. Cycling gives MRPM residents low-cost access to services and social contact as an alternative to more costly motor vehicle use.
  6. Cycling generates traffic for small, locally owned businesses. People who bike to shop don't buy as much per visit as people who drive there, but they shop more often. Especially in these extraordinarily challenging and turbulent times for business owners and their employees due to US-imposed tariffs, biking to shop helps support the local economy.
  7. Cycling is a viable commuter option in nearby cities such as Vancouver and Victoria; why not Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows?
     

Looking Back
 

In 1995 the cities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows established a joint municipal Bicycle Advisory Committee. Peter Jongbloed (from Pitt Meadows) and Dave Rush (from Maple Ridge) were among the first members appointed to the committee. Thirty years later they are still involved in cycling advocacy.

In those early years, the prevailing assumption was that the safest thing to do for cyclists was to ride a bicycle as if it were a motor vehicle. That slowly but surely changed over the following decades. More and more the realization set in that that principle, or ideology, perhaps worked for the “strong and fearless”, but didn’t fit the needs of everybody else who would like to ride, if only it were safer. The “interested but concerned” group prefers separation from car traffic or traffic calmed streets. A 2024 State of Cycling report published by TransLink in partnership with HUB Cycling found that this “interested but concerned” group represents more than 40% of Metro Vancouver’s population.

In 2009, local cyclists formed a Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows chapter within the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC), later rebranded as HUB Cycling. The charter members were Rick Halas, Dave Rush, Peter Jongbloed, Alex Pope, Steve Schleicher, Ivan Chow and Jackie Chow. 

A first step was to take part in the province-wide Bike to Work Week. During this annual event, later renamed Go By Bike Week, volunteers from MRPM set up stations along busy cycling routes to offer information, support and mechanical services. Unfortunately, this local effort was suspended during COVID and has not been resumed.

In April 2011, VACC MRPM launched the "Discovery Bike Rides" program, guiding local residents to interesting destinations in the area. The first ride was to Steve Schleicher's Rainforest Design velomobile workshop to see how velomobiles are made. Other tours took place in historic neighbourhoods in Hammond, the Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows, and Kanaka Creek Coffee on 104 Ave; the Bell-Irving Fish Hatchery; and several successful Bike to Farms events and art studio tours. Cycling is a natural fit with environmental conservation, and VACC/HUB MRPM has been pleased to partner with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society to organize bike tours around the Katzie Slough.  

A large group of children ride bicycles around a fenced outdoor basketball court during what appears to be a cycling class or event. An adult in a red jacket stands in the foreground, overseeing the activity. Several basketball hoops are visible, and spectators or parents stand along the fence on the right. The background includes suburban houses and trees under a cloudy sky.

 

Family Bike Fest at Albion Elementary, May 2011

 

Also in 2011, HUB MRPM took part in the first GETI Fest (Golden Ears Transition Initiative). The GETI group’s goal was to help the community become less reliant on fossil fuels, and to create a more resilient and vibrant community. HUB members demonstrated the use of the new TransLink bus bike racks. The local committee also set up a bike decoration station, and ran a bike rodeo, where kids could learn the rules of the road. In the early years of GETI Fest, a "human powered parade" was held. Many kids participated with decorated bikes.

2012 was the first year that HUB MRPM  participated in the Earth Day event in Maple Ridge, giving away donated and refurbished bikes through a draw. The first few years, the HUB booth was hidden behind the bushes with the bikes lined up on the sidewalk by the Leisure Centre. Dave Rush pulled a TransLink bike rack-trailer behind his bike all the way from Vancouver to Maple Ridge so that people who would like to put their bike on the bus, were able to practice. After the first few years, the Cycle Recycle, as it was then called, was given a more prominent place in the middle of Memorial Peace Park, and it became a main attraction. Crowds would gather around when the time came to draw the winning tickets.
 

Two side-by-side photos from a community bike event. The left image shows a HUB Cycling sign reading “Free Bikes – Kids’ Giveaway!” with a group of people, children, and bikes lined up under tents at an outdoor event. The right image captures a joyful moment where a child raises a hand in celebration while a man hands over a yellow bike; people around are clapping and smiling. A photographer credit reads “Amber Light Photography.”


Cycle Recycle at Earth Day 2019

A group of people gather outdoors at a community event near the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre. Several individuals are labeled by name, including Michael Nelson, Jackie Chow, Ivan Chow, Sigrun Gilmour, MLA Bob D’Eith (holding a green umbrella), Mayor Dan Ruimy (wearing a red hat), Ashley van der Pauw, and Kirk Grayson. Tents and booths are set up in the background, and a person in the foreground is holding a bicycle. The atmosphere appears cheerful and community-focused.

 

Earth Day Cycle Recycle 2023
 

In recent years, Chair Jenny Wright’s focus has been on promoting cycling to school, in the hopes that cycling education and promotion will help foster life-long active transportation habits.  

At the regional level, HUB Metro Vancouver has had major successes, such as planning the Central Valley Greenway, part of a pathway system that now offers bike access (mostly off-road) from New Westminster to downtown Vancouver. In recent years, HUB has focused on the creation of a more complete regional cycling network through its “UnGapTheMap” campaign.

Over three decades, local cyclists in MRPM have worked with city councillors and planners to incorporate cycling facilities into new roads and urban developments. There have been more losses than wins. The single MRPM Bicycle Advisory Committee was split into two when Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows ended their recreational services partnership. The offspring committees in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge have been called together if and when city governments showed an interest. As of 2025, the Maple Ridge Transportation Advisory Committee is combined with a heritage advisory function in a joint mandate that is unclear. Even so, HUB MRPM continues to provide constructive input on city plans and projects.  
 

Working Towards a Cycling-Friendly Community.
 

For the 2023 municipal elections, HUB MRPM developed a vision document to guide city councils in working for a greener, safer, more active community. Some of our proposals:

  • Land use. Support sustainable land use plans and zoning, including densification and building complete communities where people can access their daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride, including jobs, groceries, schools and services.
  • Infrastructure. Support, in principle, that people of all ages and abilities should be able to bike to and from major destinations safely and comfortably at all times of day and year. Support infrastructure projects that separate people on bikes from people travelling on foot and by car to improve safety for all users and remove conflict between different modes. Explore and support efforts to develop a network of cycle highways across the region. Cycle highways are long-distance, protected routes that are paved, lit, direct, and intuitive.
  • Sustainable Transportation. Support increased budgets for active transportation and cycling infrastructure, education, programming and promotion. Support 30 km/hr speed limits on bike routes. Amend bylaws and legislation such as the BC Motor Vehicle Act to support people travelling by bike, for example through safe passing distance laws.
  • Social Equity. Recognize the interests of low-income people and the need to invest in low-cost transportation options. 
     

HUB MRPM’s Current Priorities
 

Some of our agenda for 2025:
 

  • Supporting the inclusion of bicycle parking space in new multi-family residential buildings through a planned 2025 revision of the Maple Ridge Off-street Parking and Loading Bylaw.
  • Supporting upgraded cycling connections to TransLink’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit stations along Lougheed Highway, specifically 203, 207, Laity, and 216 streets. The north-south arterials are currently very poor for cycling and definitely not for all ages and abilities.
  • Providing input to the draft Lougheed Transit Corridor Area Plan (LTCAP). The City of Maple Ridge has accepted the principle that multi-family housing should be constructed along the new Bus Rapid Transit route, with public engagement continuing through May 2025. The City is also conducting a review of the adjoining Town Centre and Hammond Area Plans. The LTCAP contemplates the long-term development of the West Ridge Greenway, a multi-use pathway and green corridor running parallel to the Lougheed Highway from 203 St. to 221 St. HUB MRPM continues to advocate for traffic-calmed streets, traffic diversion and separated uni-directional bike lanes along the greenway, which its members feel are more appropriate in view of higher densities planned for the area as well as safety concerns with shared, bi-directional MUPs. 
     

If you’re interested in joining the committee or have questions about HUB Cycling Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows’ work, you can contact the current Chair, Jenny Wright, at mapleridge-pittmeadows@bikehub.ca.