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
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.