A New Westminster family was able to safely cycle from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal to downtown Victoria – something they’re unable to do on local streets.
Sapperton resident Wes Kinna said he and his six- and eight-year-old kids felt safe riding their bikes into downtown Victoria because of its AAA cycling infrastructure. In response to a couple of close calls while cycling, he’s urging the City of New Westminster to better educate its employees about bike lanes and to make improvements to the cycling network to improve safety for all cyclists.
At the end of September, Kinna was riding home from Coquitlam along United Boulevard in the bike lane, which comes to an end just before the Bailey bridge. Rather than use the multi-use path off tothe sideof the bridge, which canbe quite slippery, he chose to take the lane behind a pickup truck across the Bailey bridge.
“Traffic came to a stop, and I went to pass on the right-hand side, which I am allowed to do, and the pickup in front of me swerved to close the space between his truck and the guardrail,” he recalled. “I had to duck to make it under his mirror and was nearly crushed between him and the guard rail. He expressed afterwards that I should stay off the road and use the sidewalk.”
Kinna, appearing before council via Zoom on Nov. 9, said he was cycling up Columbia Street on Nov. 6, when a City of New Westminster van passed him, pulled into the bike lane and stopped.
“I was forced to stop to check and see if the lane of traffic was safe to enter, but it was not. There was a queue of 20 vehicles all proceeding too fast for me to get into it,” he told council. “I took a moment to take a picture of the offending vehicle and when I got home I Tweeted the photos to the city and the NWPD, and requested that everyone be cognizant of the fact that this manoeuvre put me at risk as a vulnerable road user.”
A staff response stated that Kinna’s concerns had been passed on to the city’s meter-collection team for discussion. He said the city’s response indicated it is a safety issue for staff to walk too far from their vehicles when carrying cash that’s been collected from parking meters, but they will discuss other options because they recognize the importance of keeping bike lanes clear.
Kinna said the Nov. 6 incident wasn’t the first time he’s seen city vehicles blocking bike lanes; he suggested it’s “a regular occurrence” on East Columbia Street when employees stop at a deli to get lunch.
“My first request is that the city engage in training for all city staff that recognizes that it is never acceptable to park or stop in a bike lane,” he said. “None of us would ever park in a crosswalk, so why is a bike lane OK?”
Kinna also urged the city to move quickly on implementation of AAA cycling infrastructure. He said all levels of riders benefit from safer cycling infrastructure and will feel safer knowing they won’t be forced into traffic.
“The city has done an OK job of updating pedestrian infrastructure in terms of curb cuts and new crosswalks and signalized crossings,” he said. “But asking kids to ride their bikes on sidewalks, because the road isn’t safe enough, isn’t good enough anymore.”
The City of New Westminster’s master transportation plan outlines a hierarchy that will be followed when planning transportation improvements, with walking in the top spot, followed by cycling, transit, commercial vehicles and cars.
Kinna said the city is ignoring its own master transportation plan when allocating money for budgets. In a time of a climate crisis, when kids should be riding their bikes more often, he said they’re not being supported with safe infrastructure.
“This infrastructure would benefit children, seniors, people who can’t afford cars or just don’t want them,” he said. “It’s time to move faster on reallocating the space with more than just signage that gets knocked down or driven over.”
Council referred Kinna’s concerns to staff for a report.
“Council is going to be engaging in the budget process over the next little while so I appreciate your comments and feedback regarding cycling infrastructure,” said Mayor Jonathan Cote.
