Cyclists share feedback to help make Windsor a bike-friendlier city
With the warmer weather and steep gas prices, many are turning to their bikes to get around.
“There's some definite areas where some improvements can be made with respect to bike lanes and safety,” said resident Ken Acton.
A group of cyclists took to the streets Friday morning and stopped off at Jackson Park on their way to work.
There, they were able to share their feedback on what would help make the city a better place to ride.
“What it is they would need to see happen in the community in order for them to be able to make the choice to get out of their motorized vehicle and take their bike,” said Kieren McKenzie, chair of the Windsor Bicycling Committee.
Whether it's to work, school or other daily commutes the event was aimed at promoting the idea of choosing to ride instead of drive.
”As our city grows and changes it's gonna be something that's a real need for a lot of people from an equitable perspective,” said Acton.
Those changes are happening but more needs to be done.
Whithley added, “We just have white painted lines. Cars can cross over and I've actually seen myself, riding where a car is actually using a bicycle lane to actually pass a vehicle.”
The bike lane on University Avenue heading downtown ends at Bruce Avenue, but Bike Windsor Essex would like to see a protected bike lane on University Ave. and Wyandotte Street in order to connect the city from west to east.
“We do need to make some infrastructure investments to sort of complete the network in our community and a lot of those investments are happening,” said McKenzie, who adds they are receiving feedback on other issues like bike safety once a cyclist has arrived to their destination. “There needs to be appropriate bike parking facilities.”
The Canadian Mental Health Association has a Velo Vault for cyclists to lock up their bikes.
“We did it because we wanted to promote active living. There’s a strong link between mental health and physical health. We also wanted a safe place for people to store their bikes. They can have a little piece of mind,” said facility supervisor Joe Scalia.
McKenzie says the information gathered at Friday’s event will be compiled and presented to city council in the fall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.