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Cycling in Edmonton
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City Cycling Opportunities
Educational Opportunities
The City’s educational opportunities aim to increase comfort and confidence while cycling in Edmonton, and to raise awareness of available bike routes, rules and infrastructure.
- City Joy Rides - The City has created cycling routes and loops from 4 to 24km long.
- Using Ride with GPS, download maps or follow the audible cues provided by the mobile app, or access PDF maps. Find the right ride for you on at Ride with GPS.
Community Resource Hub
Event Calendar
YEG Bike has pulled together a calendar of cycling events in Edmonton.
Edmonton Federation of Community League Bike Month Challenge
Leagues across the city have adopted the challenge as a fun way to compete with other Leagues and promote active transportation and recreation in their neighbourhoods.
Bicycle Auctions, Swaps, and Repairs
In addition to the initiatives below, there are several local bicycle shops with helpful and qualified people to help connect you to a bicycle that meets your needs.
Alberta Bike Swap
Delivers community-based bicycle buy, sell, and donate events and resources in the form of software, bike racks, and processes to empower and enable Albertans and Canadians to embrace a cycling lifestyle.
Bicycle Auctions
When the Edmonton Police Service cannot identify a bike's owner, they go to the Property Exhibit Unit, and if they go unclaimed, they go to auction. Bicycle auctions are hosted by Michener Allen Auctions. If you are interested in attending a bicycle auction, please call 780-470-5584 for auction details.
Bike Edmonton
Refurbishes and sells donated bicycles. You can also sign up for a workshop to learn how to do repairs on your own.
Sport Central
Dedicated to empowering kids, one piece of sports equipment at a time. If you are a family experiencing financial hardship, you may be referred to Sport Central for sports equipment by a social service agency, school or community leader.
Educational Opportunities for Families or Children
Let’s Bike There YEG
Started by a group of Edmonton moms using cargo bikes to carry kids/groceries/whatever. We are a group for people wanting to bike for the everyday!
Ever Active Schools
Supporting the implementation of a variety of cycling initiatives, including safe cycling education, cycling clinics, guided rides, and bicycle rodeos as part of a school's action plan.
Pedalheads
Offers a bike camp with eight instructional levels which take kids from training wheels to trails.
Argyll Velodrome Association
Offers all age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities.
Bike Edmonton
Maintenance classes, cycling courses, youth and adaptive programs and operates two workshops with all the tools needed to get the job done.
You Can Ride 2
A charitable program of Goodwill Industries of Alberta that offers children with disabilities the opportunity to find joy and freedom through movement by reducing barriers to riding a bike.
Mountain and Dirt Clubs
BMX Racing Club
Allows riders to race as fast as they can over dirt jumps, around banked corners, and across the finish line.
Cranky's Bike Shop
Offers all age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities.
Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance
Offers riding opportunities for and improving mountain biking in the Greater Edmonton area.
HardCore Cycle, Mud Sweat and Gears and Pedalhead Bicycle Works
Offering all age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities.
Revolution Cycle
Offers a variety of riding opportunities including Women on Wheels, and road and mountain biking.
SheShreds
Offers groups for beginner and intermediate riders.
Women on Wheels YEG
A mountain bike club for women of all experience levels.
Road and Track Clubs
Edmonton Bicycle and Touring Club
A recreational not-for-profit volunteer-run group that runs bicycling trips year round.
Edmonton Road and Track Club
All age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities.
Juventus Cycling Club
All age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities. Check out the club programs for Sprockids introduction to cycling for kids ages 8-11.
Masters Cycling Club
Road racing opportunities and training for cycling strength for riders 30+ years of age.
Red Bike
All age groups and genders riding and racing opportunities.
Rocky Mountain Seniors Ski Club
Weekly group cycling in Edmonton and the surrounding areas. Most groups ride twice a week for 2-3 hours with a coffee stop.
Semi Social Cycling Club
A low-pressure way to get outside and make friends.
Peace Ave Cycling Club
A way to meet friends and explore Edmonton. Rides weekly on Wednesdays from spring to fall.
Cycling Infrastructure
Bicycle Signals
Bicycle signals are located throughout the city’s bike network. When present, refer to these signals when crossing intersections.
Bike Triggered Crossing - Signal with Sensors
Bike-triggered crossings help people cycling to cross at intersections.
On Your Bike:
- Watch for a blue light and a "Bike Detected" sign
- If you have been detected, the light will turn blue
- Cross when the pedestrian signal turns to a “Walk” light
Bike Box
Green Bike Boxes painted in a driving lane allow people cycling to do two things:
- Pull in front of waiting traffic at a signalized intersection, making people cycling more visible and giving them a head start when turning or going straight
- Make safe turns by using it as a Bike Turn Box
If the Light is Red
- Enter the Bike Box and position yourself in your direction of travel
- When the light turns green, proceed as normal
Videos
Get Behind It - The Bike Box 3 Way Intersection
Get Behind It - The Bike Box 4 Way Intersection
Bike Box Video: Turning Left on a Red
Bike Turn Boxes
Green Bike Turn Boxes painted at intersections provide people cycling with a safe way to turn left or right. These boxes can be found in the bike lane or in a driving lane.
On Your Bike:
- Move into the green box found either in a bike lane or driving lane
- Position yourself in your new direction of travel and wait at the red light
- When the light turns green, proceed through the intersection
- When stopped at an intersection, do not stop on the "X"
Videos
Note: Crossing two lanes of traffic to make a left or right turn from a protected bike lane is not permitted.
Green Stripes at Intersections
Striped green paint indicates that a bike lane is crossing an intersection or accessway such as an alleyway or entrance into a parking lot.
On Your Bike:
- Look both directions when crossing
Two Stage Crossings
Two stage crossings allow people to pause between crossing each direction of traffic and narrow the street to calm and slow traffic and shorten crossing distance.
On your bike:
- Check for drivers and yield before crossing one lane at a time.
Raised Crossing at Bus Stop
A raised crossing brings the level of the roadway to that of the adjacent bus stop. Transit users will be getting on and off the bus at this location.
On Your Bike:
- Slow down and yield to pedestrians getting on or off the bus
White Squares at Crosswalks - Shared Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossings
When a shared pathway crosses an intersection, the crosswalk may be lined with white squares. The Elephant feet markings indicate that you are in a shared space.
On Your Bike:
- Yield the right-of-way to vehicles unless otherwise indicated by a traffic control device such as a sign or signal
- Be aware of others
- Enter the cross when it’s safe to do so
- At a crosswalk with a pedestrian light, cross when the walk light is on
Bike Lanes and Paths
Contraflow Lanes
These lanes are installed on some one way streets to give bikes a dedicated lane to ride against the flow of traffic.
When you bike with traffic:
- Share the lane with vehicles
When you bike against traffic:
- Travel in the contraflow bike lane. A single or double solid yellow line on the road separates the bikes in the contraflow bike lane from the cars.
Painted Bike Lanes
Painted bike lanes reserve space on the road exclusively for bikes
In Your Car:
- When you are driving beside a painted bike lane, you need to pay special attention when turning right at an intersection or accessway such as an entrance into a parking lot or driveway
- Wait for the solid line to become dashed, shoulder check to look for a cyclist and then, when safe, enter the lane
On Your Bike or In Your Car:
- Bike lanes are dashed before an intersection to indicate to cyclists where a left turn bay starts
Protected Bike Lanes
Protected bike lanes are on-street bike lanes protected from moving and parked vehicles by a physical barrier. Protected bike lanes may allow for travel in one or both directions.
On Your Bike:
- Watch for signs and paint symbols indicating the direction of travel
In Your Car:
- Look both directions and yield to bikes when crossing and turning
Summer Streets
A seasonal program to support active modes of travel and provide more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors during the warm season.
- A vehicle lane is converted for people to use for physical activity; similar to a shared pathway, they can be used to cycle, run, walk and more
- Temporary flex posts are installed to separate mobility lanes from vehicle traffic so people can bike, scoot, roll and walk comfortably and safely in a separate lane
- The speed limit on the adjacent roadway is reduced to 40 km/h where the lane is not separated by a median
- Temporary ramps are set up at the access points allowing pedestrians, bikes, strollers, wheelchairs and other wheeled devices to move from the curb to the street pavement or vice versa
Shared Roadways
People cycle and drive along the roadway. These routes are marked with blue or green bike route signs or painted markings on the roadway.
The Safe Passing Distance Bylaw provides clear guidance for how much room people driving need to leave to safely pass people biking on the street.
In your vehicle:
- Pass safe, leave space; leave 1 metre between you and the person biking where the speed limit is 60 km/h or less, and 1.5 metres where the speed limit is greater than 60 km/h
- You may cross the solid yellow line, when safe, to give the required space
- People biking or scooting on the street may be riding in the middle of the lane to avoid obstacles and debris close to the curb
- Wait until it’s safe to pass, it won’t add much time to your trip
On your bike:
- The road marking guides where its best to travel on your bike
- Ride far enough out from the curb to avoid obstacles and to help people driving see you
- Ride in a straight line, rather than weaving in and out of parked vehicles
Road Markings and Street Signs
Shared Pathways and Trails
Shared pathways, which are paved, and trails, that are hard packed with gravel, wood chips or dirt, are for many activities. You can bike, walk, run and more.
On Your Bike:
- Use the path to travel in both directions
- Ring your bell to pass
- Slow down and pass on the left
- Yield to slower users
On Your Feet:
- Be aware that others may choose to pass you on your left
In Your Car:
- Check both directions and check for bikes when crossing a shared pathway
Shared-Use Sidewalks
Some sidewalks may be designated as Shared Pathways or Shared Use Sidewalks. Watch for signs. Shared-use sidewalks are typically 2.5 m or wider and are marked with signs that indicate that they are shared. Watch for signs.
A complete list of shared-use sidewalks is available under Bicycle Highways in the Traffic Listing Document.
On your bike:
- Yield to pedestrians on shared-use sidewalks and ring your bell before passing
- Bicycles with wheels less than 50 cm in diameter, such as children's bicycles, are permitted on any sidewalk
Rules and Regulations
The Province of Alberta Traffic Safety Act, the City of Edmonton Traffic Bylaw and Public Spaces Bylaw contain formal regulations regarding bicycle traffic and use of transportation and parkland facilities.
- All bicycles must:
- Have 1 to 2 headlamps
- Have 1 red tail lamp
- Have 1 red reflector mounted on the rear
- Be equipped with 1 bell or horn
- Have working brakes, steering and brakes that will lock wheels on dry, clean, level pavement
- All cyclists must:
- Wear a helmet if under the age of 18 or when operating a power bike* or e-bike*
*Rules & Regulations Applying to Small Vehicles
- Wear a helmet if under the age of 18 or when operating a power bike* or e-bike*
- Alert people ahead of them before passing
Cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles. They're allowed on all roads as well as shared pathways, bike lanes, and bike routes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to ride my bicycle on a sidewalk?
Riding a bicycle, e-scooter or e-bike is not permitted on sidewalks. This does not apply to shared pathways or children 16 years and younger.
Here are a few risks of riding on the sidewalk:
- Drivers are not expecting cyclists to be on the sidewalk, increasing chances of collisions when drivers are entering or exiting alleys and parking lots
- Sidewalks are narrow and full of obstacles, which creates potential conflicts between people walking, biking, driving, wheeling, getting on and off buses, or emerging from building entrances
Some sidewalks may be designated as shared sidewalks and shared pathways. Watch for signs.
Are people using mobility scooters permitted to use bike lanes?
Based on the Traffic Safety Act, all rules that apply to pedestrians also apply to individuals operating mobility aids, therefore people using mobility aids are not permitted in bike lanes and should use the sidewalk instead.
May I take my bike on the LRT or on the bus?
If you are travelling on transit with your bike, more information can be found at Bikes and E-scooters on ETS.
How can I find my way around Edmonton by bike?
The City of Edmonton has wayfinding signs and maps to help you navigate around Edmonton. See Bike Route Wayfinding to see how wayfinding signs are designed to help people navigate the city’s bike network.
Bike Maps and Routes provides you with maps that show biking routes all across Edmonton.
Discover YEG is an online map of pathways, bike lanes and more, with each kind of infrastructure in a different colour.
There are also maps in PDF format for you to download.
Benefits of Cycling in Edmonton
City Plan envisions a city that is more equitable and affordable, where people aren't paying more than 35% of their income on housing and transportation, and 50% of all trips are made by transit or active transportation. Learn how Edmonton is supporting transportation for everyone, no matter how they move.