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Ride with Candidates: Angela Vieth (Waterloo Ward 3)

Posted on October 18, 2018October 21, 2018 by Laura McDonald
Posted in: I bike I vote, Rides with Candidates

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 Craig and Josalyn Radcliffe (and their daughter!) took Angela Vieth, candidate for Ward 3, Waterloo, out for a bike ride. Here’s what they had to say about the ride:

We started our cycle route across the street from N.A. MacEachern Public School where there is a gravel trail. We took the trail to Parkside Drive, where we transitioned for a short while to the bike lane on Parkside Drive. We rode up to Parkside and Bearinger, where we crossed to the far side of the intersection as pedestrians and rode up the paved trail along Wes Graham Way and down a trail towards Columbia Lake. We took the Columbia Lake trail back to Bearinger and Pineridge Road. We then looped back to the original trail.

Because we were with children, we wanted to pick a route that used trails as much as possible. My 9 year-old had a bad spill the day before on Erbsville Road near Laurelwood Drive (heavy trucks at a construction side had eroded the paved shoulder going North and made for treacherous biking on a busy, exposed road), so we didn’t want to push things too much. Her fall became a good starting point for discussing issues of bike infrastructure in the region.

As we rode we discussed a few of the infrastructure issues in the ward and nearby. We mentioned:

  • The difficulty of crossing highway 85 from the West side of North Waterloo to the East, especially during rush hour
  • The lack of a safe and efficient route to get to East Waterloo that avoids riding on Weber Street near King and Weber
  • The lack of consideration given to cycling infrastructure when doing considerable construction work on the bridge across the railway tracks on Weber Street between Parkside and Albert
  • The need for separated bike lanes and our view that painted lanes are inadequate

The route we took is well-known to us, so we felt relatively safe (again, we were riding with children). There was a stretch along Parkside Drive that we needed to ride on a bike lane, which made our 9 year-old a bit nervous. We had to act as pedestrians when trying to reach the multi-use trail at Parkside and Bearinger since the trail was diagonally across from us at the intersection and the road was relatively busy.

Angela was generally supportive of cycling infrastructure as she rides to City Hall regularly. When I brought up how disappointed I was with the lack of cycle traffic separation on Northfield across the bridge over Highway 85, she didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it, which I found a bit disappointing. I got the impression that she believes the onus is on the cycling community to be vocal about our needs — she said she hears more from people angry about spending on cycling infrastructure. She said she was glad that CycleWR was around now, since she can point to the organization’s advocacy in support of cycling infrastructure. I was hoping to hear a bit more bravery from her in terms of making what she sees as the right decision to support cycling infrastructure, but at least she will support popular efforts.

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Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 – 9:00pm for a look at what we accomplished in 2020 and what’s coming up for cycling in the region in 2021 and beyond.

Active transportation leads from the three cities and the region who will be joining us:
 
• Lisa Chominiec
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, City of Cambridge
 
• Liz Christensen
Design & Construction Project Manager, City of Kitchener
 
• Darren Kropf
Active Transportation Planning Project Manager, City of Kitchener
 
• Louise Finlay
Project Manager, Bikeways, Trails and Greenspaces, City of Waterloo
 
• Kornel Mucsi
Manager, Transportation Planning, Region of Waterloo

Check the link in our bio for meeting instructions.
Are you curious about winter biking or determined Are you curious about winter biking or determined to give it a try this season? Our next Virtual Folks & Spokes welcomes Elysha and Sarah-Beth to share their winter-biking experience! 

Join us online on Thursday, November 19, from 7:30 – 8:30 pm. to learn about biking in cold weather, bike maintenance tips, and more. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and for other participants to chat about their winter-biking experience, too.

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Meet Elysha

I'm Elysha! (she/they)

I'm a winter cyclist. I couldn't decide on adjectives for that because sometimes it's fun and sometimes it is horrible, but I always do it anyway. I've been riding my bike through the winters for around 10 years. You also may know me from my mending and upcycling project, @beyondrepair519, where I share my textile artwork.

On Thursday, my partner Scott will be joining me as a model for some of our winter cycling tips. He works more closely with bike stuff in the region—mostly cycling education right now, but he was also a mechanic for a long time. We have been loving the recent heat wave but don't want to be caught off guard when winter hits!

Join us and share what you know/learn more about how to get your bike ready for winter.

---

Meet Sarah-Beth and Ryan

Sarah-Beth (she/her) and Ryan (he/him) have been biking with their kids - ages 8 and 5 - for the past 4 years. You may know Ryan from being featured on Instagram as part of our #WinterRiders storytelling last year. He was a first-time winter bike rider last year. This year, Sarah-Beth is hopping on the bandwagon and they're bringing their kids along with them. They'll share their experiences figuring out how to prepare for the cold months ahead, and how to keep their kids interested and safe along with them. 

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We use Zoom video conferencing to host Virtual Folks & Spokes. It works on most computers and modern mobile devices.

If this is your first time using Zoom, we recommend joining a few minutes early.

Visit the link in our bio to launch the Zoom meeting.
The next Folks & Spokes will be hosted online on T The next Folks & Spokes will be hosted online on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 – 8:30 pm.

We will kick things off with special guest Kornel Mucsi, the new Transportation Planning Manager at the Region of Waterloo. Kornel will share some of his experience from leading the Active Transportation program in Ottawa for the last decade as well as his early impressions and directions for Waterloo Region.

After question and answer with Kornel, we will continue with a casual discussion of anything and everything biking.

To participate, find the Zoom video call link in our bio!
Cycling into the Future, in cooperation with Cycle Cycling into the Future, in cooperation with CycleWR, STSWR and ClimateActionWR is offering one or more cycling training sessions for students ages 5 and up. 

Please indicate your interest and availability with this form:

https://bit.ly/2ZWGDxw

These practical sessions will cover various components including:

* Tips for teaching how to ride for beginners
* Proper helmet fit
* Bike handling skills
* Hand signals and road signs
* Bike lane etiquette
* Parent session: how to coach kids while riding with them
* Simple bicycle maintenance
* Tips for riding in fall and winter

The sessions will be held in a parking lot with an optional on-road session for grades 4 and up. Parents must accompany their children, and all participants must practice social distancing with non-family participants.
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