The Hamilton Bike Share community ride across Hamilton ended with a reveal of the new Hamilton Harbour accessible bike hub

This article is a part of the Silhouette Photo-Journalism series.

The Everyone Rides Initiative's most recent community bike ride took participants on a tour of the city's murals as a celebration of public art. The ride took place on the morning of Nov. 16, 2024, starting at Corktown Park and ending at Hamilton Harbour. There, the new Bayfront Park Adaptive Bike Hub was unveiled, set to begin operation in April of 2025.

The Everyone Rides Initiative is an equity program within the Hamilton Bike Share organization that aims to remove barriers to accessing cycling as a mode of transportation. Their new adaptive bike hub will be the second-ever of its kind in Hamilton, with the first located in Gage Park.

Paul Copcutt, a participant of the ride explained that he attended to deliberately appreciate the murals. "I think the cool thing about Hamilton is that there are so many murals that people don't even notice," said Copcutt. The following is a documentation of some of the murals found along the ride.

At the corner of James Street North and Wilson Street, this breathtaking mural was the crowd favorite for the mural ride cyclists. Created by artists Alexander Bacon, Heiro, KWest and TukeOne.

Directly opposite from the pervious mural, a peregrine falcon, Hamilton's unofficial city bird can be seen painted at York Street. Pictured here are Abbie Little (left), Co-Chair for Cycle Hamilton and Olivia MacAskill (right), Community Engagement Manager at Hamilton Bike Share.

The artist Scott MacDonald, painted the outline and set up a QR code where the community could fill in the colours in any way they desired. He then picked his favourite submissions and asked the community to vote on which should be painted, resulting in the gorgeous green and blue bird.

This mural can be found at the corner of Walnut Street and Jackson Street tucked away in a parking lot, artist unknown.

This mural brought more aquatic themes to the ride as it drew closer to the harbour. Also tucked away in a parking lot, this wonderful mural was an extra stop for the riders as they approached the accessible bike hub

As the ride came to a close, this mural along the waterfront made for a scenic entrance into the harbour. Painted by Clear Eyes Collective.

Riders then collected at the harbour to try the new accessible bikes. Coffee and donuts were provided for the riders to celebrate the unveiling of the hub and discuss the murals.

Lester Coloma (pictured here) is the artist behind mural at the accessible bike hub at Hamilton Harbour. He said that painting this mural was a challenge due to the the weather but he was inspired by the nearby water.

"The whole idea for the octopus was for the theme of the water by the harbour," said Coloma. He is no stranger to murals and his work can be found across the city, including one depicting construction along Hess Street and between Barton and Cannon Street.

A recumbent bicycle (pictured here) is one of many accessible bikes offered by the hub. Others include tricycles, e-assist, dual and side-by-side tandem, hand cycle bicycles and recumbent bicycles (pictured here).

The variation allows for all to be able to feel the joy of cycling, part of the mission of the Everyone Rides Initiative. The hub will also be equipped with an array of modifications that can be added to the bikes, such as allowing a rider to reach the pedals more easily.

Riding an adaptive bike from the hub will be free and there will be staff at the hub to help riders have the best experience. Bikes can be rented for one hour at a time in order to ensure that each rider has the equipment that they need to enjoy cycling.

The Everyone Rides Initiative hosts many community rides that explore public art and interesting locations throughout Hamilton. Details are available on their website for you to see upcoming events and all that the city has to offer.

Hamilton will soon be home to a bike share program. Starting this summer, a partnership between the City of Hamilton and Social Bicycles will offer 750 bikes at 80 stations across the city.

The bicycles will be available to users for a small fee ranging from $3 single-rides to $85 year-long memberships. Bikes can be reserved using the Social Cyclist smartphone app or by using a keyboard on any of the bicycles. An unlock code then frees the bike, and riders can keep the bicycle for as long as is paid for. Bikes must be returned to one of the 80 hub locations at the end of the allotted time to avoid extra fees.

“We’re excited to add this travel choice to our existing range of transportation options to make travelling even more convenient and sustainable,” said Peter Topalovic, Project Manager of Transportation Demand Management with the City of Hamilton.  “Bike Share is the fastest growing transportation mode in the world, complementing existing public transit and providing first and last mile connectivity by filling in transit gaps.  It’s a healthy, sustainable, and affordable form of public transportation.”

Exact implementation dates are currently unknown, with their website simply promising to have the program in place “by summer 2014.”

The 80 docking station locations are also still to be determined. Members of the public are encouraged to suggest where stations should be by using the app or by sending an email to [email protected]. So far, votes have favourited a McMaster location as well as many hotspots near Jackson Square in the downtown core.

In introducing a public bike share program, Hamilton is following in the footsteps of other major Canadian and international cities. While bike share programs are a successful staple in European metropolises, Canadian cities have had some difficulty sustaining the systems. Toronto’s bike program, introduced in 2011, went bankrupt in 2013 from underuse, leaving the City to take on the full amount of the cost.

In Vancouver, an integrated bike share and helmet rental system is being proposed with its own slew of complications. That program is due to roll out this spring.