Getting around Cape Breton: walking and cycling times
à portée’s map shows the trip on foot and by bike from every populated block in Cape Breton to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, school, park and other everyday places. It is free, with no account.
- residents in 2021
- 93,694
- within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store
- 21%
- typical walk to a grocery store
- 34 min
- of 1,000 communities for groceries on foot
- 574th
Travel times across Cape Breton
Each block is coloured by the trip from it to the nearest place of the kind you pick, on foot or by bike. Move the map, or open it in à portée for any address and all 29 kinds of place.
A free plus account adds a mode and a time limit for each place.
Getting around Cape Breton
The share of Cape Breton residents within a trip of each place, and the typical trip, by each way of getting there the free map offers.
| Place | On foot | By bike |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 12%typical 34 min | 35%typical 18 min |
| Pharmacy | 16%typical 27 min | 42%typical 13 min |
| Park | 40%typical 13 min | 71%typical 6 min |
| Elementary school | 18%typical 23 min | 47%typical 11 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 21%typical 34 min | 45%typical 18 min |
| Pharmacy | 27%typical 27 min | 56%typical 13 min |
| Park | 56%typical 13 min | 79%typical 6 min |
| Elementary school | 32%typical 23 min | 63%typical 11 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 31%typical 34 min | 56%typical 18 min |
| Pharmacy | 38%typical 27 min | 63%typical 13 min |
| Park | 68%typical 13 min | 84%typical 6 min |
| Elementary school | 45%typical 23 min | 71%typical 11 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 45%typical 34 min | 66%typical 18 min |
| Pharmacy | 54%typical 27 min | 71%typical 13 min |
| Park | 81%typical 13 min | 90%typical 6 min |
| Elementary school | 62%typical 23 min | 79%typical 11 min |
Cycling follows the street network, hills included. Within 15 minutes means under 16: times are rounded down to the whole minute.
Cape Breton in numbers
21% of Cape Breton residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 26% across Nova Scotia and 45% across Canada.
Residents within a walk of each place
| Place | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min | 30 min | Typical walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 12% | 21% | 31% | 45% | 34 min |
| Pharmacy | 16% | 27% | 38% | 54% | 27 min |
| Park | 40% | 56% | 68% | 81% | 13 min |
| Elementary school | 18% | 32% | 45% | 62% | 23 min |
Within a 15-minute walk, beside Nova Scotia and Canada
| Place | Cape Breton | Nova Scotia | Canada | Rank among the 1,000 communities with a page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 21% | 26% | 45% | 574th of 1,00016th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Pharmacy | 27% | 27% | 51% | 521st of 1,00015th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Park | 56% | 62% | 82% | 552nd of 1,00011th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Elementary school | 32% | 30% | 55% | 451st of 1,0007th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Communities of a similar size
The communities closest to Cape Breton in population, and the share of their residents within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store. Communities are 2021 census subdivisions (cities, towns, counties and other municipalities), compared within their municipal boundaries.
| Community | Residents | Grocery within 15 min |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara Falls | 94,415 | 53% |
| Cape Breton | 93,694 | 21% |
| Chilliwack | 93,203 | 48% |
| Victoria | 91,867 | 93% |
| Brossard | 91,525 | 57% |
More places across the Cape Breton County census division
The Cape Breton County census division has 98,318 residents, 95% of them in Cape Breton. The share of them within a 15-minute walk of more kinds of place:
- Convenience store43%
- Café29%
- Bakery14%
- Library11%
- Playground24%
- Childcare20%
- Community centre19%
- Clinic12%
Other communities in the Cape Breton County area
Beside each community is the share of its residents who can reach a grocery store within a 15-minute walk.
- Eskasoni 312%
Shares of 2021 residents of populated census blocks, on foot along the street network. How the walking times are computed
Travel times are our best estimates from open data published October 8, 2026 and can contain errors. Walking and cycling times are rounded down, so “within 15 minutes” means under 16. Check before an important decision, and tell us if something looks wrong.
Questions
Is Cape Breton walkable?
One measure is the share of residents within a 15-minute walk of everyday places. In Cape Breton, 21% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 26% across Nova Scotia and 45% across Canada. On this measure, Cape Breton ranks 574th of 1,000 communities.
Can you get around Cape Breton by bike?
By bike, 45% of Cape Breton residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, 56% a pharmacy, 79% a park and 63% an elementary school. On foot, 21% are within 15 minutes of a grocery store. The typical trip to a grocery store takes 18 min by bike and 34 min on foot. Cycling times follow the street network, hills included; they don’t say whether a street is safe or comfortable to ride.
Is Cape Breton a 15-minute city?
It depends on which everyday places you count. Within a 15-minute walk, 21% of residents reach a grocery store, 27% a pharmacy, 56% a park and 32% an elementary school. These figures count each place separately; open the map to see how many residents have all four within 15 minutes, for the places you choose.
How does Cape Breton compare with communities of a similar size?
In Cape Breton, 21% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store; in the communities closest to it in population, the share is 53% in Niagara Falls, 48% in Chilliwack, 93% in Victoria and 57% in Brossard.
Where does this data come from?
Walking and cycling times follow the street network, hills included, from each populated 2021 census block to the nearest place of each kind. Places come from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, with health care and schools checked against Statistics Canada’s open databases. Shares are weighted by 2021 population. Data published 8 October 2026. How the times are computed
Cape Breton in brief
- Province
- Nova Scotia
- Census division
- Cape Breton County
- Census subdivision code
- 1217030
- Residents in 2021
- 93,694
- Data published
- 8 October 2026
Sources: places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and the Overture Maps Foundation; census blocks, 2021 populations and municipal boundaries adapted from Statistics Canada under the Open Government Licence – Canada; elevation from Natural Resources Canada; province outlines from Natural Earth; links from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Figures derived from OpenStreetMap are under the ODbL. Data sources and licences