Ride with Candidates: Debbie Chapman, Kitchener (Ward 9)

Posted on by Emily Slofstra

In the months before the 2018 municipal election, CycleWR volunteers have been taking municipal electoral candidates for bike rides to show off the best and worst of the cycling infrastructure in their ward/city/region. For a full list of completed rides, click here. CycleWR is a non-partisan organization that does not support any particular party or candidate. Summaries are written by volunteers or candidates and may not reflect the mandate or views of CycleWR. For more information, contact us at hello@cyclewr.ca.

CycleWR volunteers Greg Andres and Katy Fulfer went for a ride with Debbie Chapman, Kitchener Ward 9 Candidate. Here’s what they had to say about it.

Key takeaways:

  • It needs to be more obvious to cyclists how to enter and exit multi-use paths. Make it more obvious to drivers that cyclists will be exiting multi-use trails into traffic.  (The lesson from the multi-use trail on Caroline)
  • It’s dangerous anytime a cyclist is forced to go from bike lanes into traffic. (The lesson on Park Street at Union Blvd)
  • We shouldn’t build bike infrastructure that is difficult to navigate on a bike. (The lesson from Glasgow Street west of Westmount Rd)
  • On the routes we cycled with Debbie, I [Katy] am frequently passed by cars when there is not really space for them to do so safely. I frequently feel as if drivers don’t value my life over their convenience. Literally.
  • Poorly designed bike infrastructure is an obstacle to riding more. The intentions are good…but poorly executed for the most part. We both said we tended to avoid cycling around the Erb/Caroline intersection because it’s so confusing generally. If I bike uptown, I go out of my way for a safer route.
  • City council needs to do a massive campaign for drivers of motor vehicles. They are not the only ones on the roads, and impatience kills. That 10 seconds it takes to pass a cyclist safely? That 10 seconds can save a life.

And here’s some more detail about the examples of infrastructure Greg and Katy pointed out to Debbie—things they liked and did not like that are parts of their usual bike riding (including commuting to work at UWaterloo).

  • The new “multi-use” trail along Caroline from Erb Street to William Street. The points we made:
    • It’s not clear if the trail is for bikes as well as pedestrians. There are no clear markings saying bikes can be on it. It just has a yellow line down the centre.
      • If the trail is not for bikes, then Caroline is almost impossible to navigate on a bike. The street is so narrow and drivers quickly become impatient if you’re cycling on the street itself.
      • There’s no easy way to navigate getting on/off the trail on either end of the trail.
    • From the trail in Waterloo Park to the trail on Caroline: the only option is to dismount and walk across on the crosswalk.
    • From the trail on Caroline onto William Street itself: No matter which direction you go—whether east or west—this is a dangerous intersection to navigate. Drivers don’t expect cyclists to be merging from the trail into traffic.
  • The bike lane on Park Street from William Street to Union Blvd. The points we made:
    • The bike lane is great. If we’re not going to have dedicated bike lanes…this is the next best thing.
    • Going south on Park Street, the bike lane abruptly ends at Union Blvd., forcing cyclists into traffic if they wish to carry on on Park Street going south. The entire lane also narrows here. This is always a bad mix. Drivers become impatient very quickly.
  • The bike lanes on Glasgow from Belmont Ave. to Fischer-Hallman
    • The bike lanes from Belmont Ave. to Westmount Rd are great on both sides of the road. Again, if we’re not going to have dedicated bike lanes, this is the next best thing.
    • The intersection at Glasgow and Westmount Rd is dangerous. When headed west on Glasgow, the bike lanes on both sides of the street disappear just before the intersection. So cyclists are forced into traffic going through the intersection.
    • Still heading west, the bike lanes on Glasgow continue to be good for a few blocks, until—inexplicably—curbs are introduced into the bike lanes. This is dangerous for two reasons:
      • It’s difficult to navigate curbs at high speeds…and control of the bike becomes a factor.
      • If cyclists want to avoid going up and down curbs on the bike lane (e.g., when we are clipped into pedals and going faster), they are forced into traffic. Again, the road is narrow and drivers quickly become impatient.

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