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Maps Updated!
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Group hopes to raise awareness of cycling woes with two-wheeled tour
A two-wheeled tour of St. Catharines will give councillors a better idea of how bad this city is for bicyclists, says a new group of cycling advocates. They’ve challenged city councillors and engineering department managers to see the city from the vantage point of a bicyle seat, in the hope of speeding up the city’s cycling transformation from dangerous to delightful. The invitation was prompted by council’s recent “misguided” decision to recommend no bike lanes for the downtown section of Ontario Street when it is converted to two-way traffic, said Dennis Soron, a founding member of the Garden City Alliance for Sustainable Transportation. It was also prompted by St. Andrew’s Coun. Andrew Gill’s tales of “near-death” experiences when he toured parts of the city by bike. This week’s city council decision to add bike lanes to Geneva Street between Scott and Linwell is a good first step, Soron said, but the city needs more. “Our hope is that you will gain a new perspective on the city and have a chance to gain insight from those of us who try to navigate it by bicycle on an ongoing basis,” Soron wrote in the e-mail invitation he sent to Mayor Brian McMullan, 12 city councillors, transportation manager Kris Jacobson, assistant city engineer Dan Dillon and city engineer Paul Mustard. The tour will be run on several dates in August, will be guided by members of the alliance and will focus on the downtown. Soron said members of the cycling group will provide bicycles and helmets or even conduct the tour on foot for people who don’t feel comfortable on a bike. So far councillors Jeff Burch, Bruce Williamson, Gill and Bill Phillips have said they’ll participate. Williamson, a schoolteacher who taught his three sons how to ride bicycles by practicing in the parking lot of a nearby church, said he intends to ride his bike to work this fall. Gill said he plans to use his bike more for errands. “I like the idea of bike lanes,” Gill said, describing the fear and vulnerablity he felt this weekend when he was cycling south on Geneva Street and trying to turn east on to Westchester Avenue. Soron said the group is focusing on downtown because of the recommendations of the city’s recently approved Creative Cluster Master Plan, which describes “poor” amenities downtown and calls for improvements for both pedestrians and cyclists. “Increasing cycle traffic to the downtown core will bring economic, environmental, social and health benefits,” Soron wrote, “and directly serve the city’s stated goal of achieving a more dense and active city centre that is appealing to tourists and local residents alike.” The city needs to add bike lanes and bike parking, and connect the downtown with outlying areas, Soron wrote. Soron said decades of “car-oriented planning and civil engineering” have damaged urban life, and his group wants St. Catharines to undo the damage by devoting more space and money to “sustainable and people-friendly transportation.” Adding bike lanes to Geneva Street was easy because they won’t inconvenience cars, Soron suggested, but real proof of council’s resolve will come when councillors put bikes above cars. St. Patrick’s Coun. Mark Elliott said council started its term of office wanting to add bike racks to city buses, but got derailed because retrofitted buses wouldn’t fit in the bus washer. He is organizing a meeting between city staff, councillors and cycling advocates — likely to take place in September — to start planning a bicycling network. Meanwhile, Niagara Region is scheduled to make a final decision on bike lanes for Ontario Street next week. On Wednesday, members of the Region’s public works committee rejected St. Catharines’ pro-car advice and voted instead to reconstruct the street with bike lanes after all. Gill said he believes high gas prices and public pressure will soon force the city to change. “It’s an important issue but I think we are headed in the right direction,” Gill said. “We’ll have to put a plan in place and stick to it.” |