Which Cities in Canada Have the Most Cycleable IKEA Store

03 Feb Which Cities in Canada Have the Most Cycleable IKEA Store

This is an except from a news item from NCCC member Mobycon, which looks at cycling in urban areas in Canada. As a test, cycling to the local IKEA was the goal.

Have you ever wanted to cycle from home to your local IKEA? It happened to me the other day when my wife and I decided to cycle from downtown Ottawa to our local IKEA store in a suburb west of the city to purchase several small items. It was 19 kilometers one way and actually a fun ride because we had the privilege to cycle along the Rideau Canal, through the urban Experimental Farm, and into the woods while passing many smiling people. More importantly, the ride put us on dedicated cycling facilities which were separate from traffic for a significant part of the journey. Feeling safe was essential for us to consider cycling to the Scandinavian design wonderland, which is also Dutch related. In case you didn’t know, IKEA’s headquarters are located in Delft, the Netherlands.

IKEA’s Cargo Bike for Rent in Groningen (credit: Melissa & Chris Bruntlett)

Many people have talked about how easy it is to cycle to the IKEA stores in the Netherlands, as shown on the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes (https://youtu.be/CgvYgxo6UY8). I have also personally witnessed people in the city of Groningen riding a cargo bike (rented out from IKEA) to bring home their new mattress. Knowing my local IKEA cycle trip is enjoyable and feasible, I wanted to turn my interest into understanding how all of the 15 Canadian IKEA stores perform in terms of cycleability.

To even the field in each city, the cycle trip in my assessment was measured from City Hall in the metropolitan centre to the local IKEA store(s).

You can find the results of the research here.