Cycling in Ridge Meadows

We live in a beautiful part of the Metro Vancouver region that lends itself well to getting around on two wheels. The flat polder landscapes with trails along the Fraser, Pitt and Alouette Rivers, and the backdrop of the Golden Ears Mountains draw many people to our area to enjoy the wide open spaces, away from the noise and hustle and bustle of city life. On sunny weekends, as you stroll or pedal along the dikes, besides the sounds of nature, what you hear are the crunching sounds of bicycle tires rolling on gravel, people talking and laughing, and the splashing sounds of dogs jumping after sticks thrown far into the water.

For those who are looking for a bit more of a work-out, some of the quiet roads through the rural, sometimes hilly countryside in east Maple Ridge offer some great cycling.

Not that long ago, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows used to be sleepy little towns, known for their rural character. Time has not stood still. Many new subdivisions have been built over the last few decades, and our town centres are being increasingly densified with smaller lot housing and apartment buildings, while much of the rolling countryside is being transformed with expansive single family housing and townhouse development. All that development has brought us more car traffic.

As a result of all this expansion of urban and suburban development, some of the streets and roads that people of all ages used to feel comfortable to cycle on are no longer as welcoming, and other than the spandex-clad “strong and fearless” types, the rest of us prefer to take the roundabout routes to get to where we want to go.

Whereas traditionally our cities and towns in North America used to be “people habitat”, many of them, including Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, are increasingly turning into a habitat that’s largely dominated by noisy motor vehicles of all sizes.

With this website, we are hoping to rekindle an interest among fellow residents in not only making our streets more welcoming to people on bikes, but making our neighbourhoods, our streets and gathering places more welcoming to people in general.

This section of our website aims to explore what’s already being done to make our cities more people-friendly, and what more could be done.

We welcome any and all ideas you can contribute. Contact us here.