Luis Patricio

The bike ride from London Ontario to Port Stanley Beach with family and friends was the example used to illustrate a few transport justice issues in the two articles: London Freedom Convoy and Summer Is Here. The articles discuss regional trips and access to recreation in the summer for those who don’t have access to a car.

Both articles sparked a lot of interest and curiosity, including from CBC London that produced a news piece about it. A lot of people wanted to know more about the route. It is encouraging to see that there is a demand or at least an interest in seeing a safe cycling route from London to Port Stanley.

So, I decided to publish the route here for two reasons. First, to make that information easily available for anyone who would like to give it a try. Second, to start a conversation about improving the route to create an all ages and abilities cycling route from London to Port Stanley.

I mapped the route using CyclOSM. This is a world-wide bicycle map based on an open source platform called OpenStreetMap (OSM). You can see a print of the full route in the image below. Clicking on the image you will be able to access the map, zoom in/out and export the route into your GPS device.

The Current Route

The total route is 43km long from Ivey Park in downtown London to Port Stanley Main Beach. A confident adult cyclist is able to do this route in two hours. We can break the route into four sections of approximately 10km each. I find that looking at the trip as four 30-minute bike rides with a water/stretch break in between makes it sound less daunting.

1. Section One: Ivey Park – White Oak Cemetery | the first part is primarily urban and it has cycling infrastructure or residential streets almost all the way. The two big stretches include Ridout St and White Oak Rd. Both with a painted bike lane.
2. Section Two: White Oak Cemetery – Wonderland Road South | no cycling infrastructure in this section. The first part has very little traffic and some nice sights, despite the landfill. The second half on Wonderland Rd S is the least safe segment of the entire route with faster and higher volume of traffic.
3. Section Three: Wonderland Road South – Sunset Drive | this is the shortest section with the biggest hill (Saint George Street right after Cowan Park). This section includes some streets with cycling infrastructure or slow traffic. The intersection crossing Wellington Rd could use an upgrade to consider bicycles.
4. Section Four: Sunset Drive – Port Stanley | the last section can be considered the most enjoyable for a few different reasons. It’s the one that will get you to the beach. It has a bike lane separated from traffic pretty much all the way and a nice downhill for the final stretch (of course on the way back this might not be that enjoyable).

An Opportunity To Improve Accessibility and Regional Tourism

Many sections already have some cycling infrastructure and there is great potential to complete a route that is 100% safe for cyclists from London to Port Stanley.  

As I showed in the Summer Is Here article, recreation, outdoor activities and exercises is important for our well-being. Providing access to the nearest beach for those who do not have access to a car should not be a tall order. A cycling route is much more affordable and faster-to-implement than a public transit route. Although, more than a hundred years ago, we already had an electric public transit line that carried, on average, 1,200 people per day between London and Port Stanley.

This cycling route is aligned with London’s Mobility Master Plan, particularly area of focus #5, that calls for better active transportation connections stating that “London is a place that can be easily accessible without a car from locations beyond its borders.” 

A safe cycling route to Port Stanley means that people from St. Thomas, Port Stanley and nearby places can get to and from London safely. Not only enabling many families and individuals who don’t have access to a car, but also creating huge economic opportunities with the new cycling tourism options.