Dear Editor:
I have heard recently people suggesting that no one uses the new bike lanes in New Westminster.
So I woke up early last week on a frigid morning and went to the corner of Seventh Avenue and Sixth Street to see if anyone uses the bike routes in the winter time.
In one morning hour, I counted two dozen users, mostly bikes, with some e-bikes and scooters. At this time of the morning, most of these trips used the new Sixth Street bike lanes.
After the counting, I rode by the high school and noted that both bike lockers were comfortably filled with bikes and scooters, easily more than 30. And later I rode by Glenbrook Middle School and saw the solitary bike rack packed with bikes.
I disagree with people's anecdotal observations that nobody uses the bike lanes. They are clearly used, even in the winter.
I note that the city's bike route network is far from complete, and yet people are using what we have. I also believe that the new Sixth Street bike lanes are serving the purpose they were built for, namely: to provide a safe and direct active transportation connection for students and teachers to one of the largest high schools in B.C. — New Westminster Secondary School.
I can only assume that with every new bike lane built, and as the network reaches completion, the number of users will skyrocket, as it has in other cities like Victoria and Montreal where people now have a safe, healthy option of using bikes, scooters, etc.
- Andrew Feltham, New Westminster
