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An illustration of what the temporary bike lanes look like. There is one lane of vehicular traffic in each direction and the outside lanes are marked with orange traffic cones to reserve it for bicycles.

URGENT: Tell Regional Council to vote for temporary ‘pandemic’ bike lanes!

Posted on June 20, 2020June 20, 2020 by Laura McDonald
Posted in: Advocacy, Infrastructure

It’s happening—Region of Waterloo staff are recommending 24 kilometres of new, temporary bike lanes to create more space for active transportation and allow more physical distancing for both cyclists and pedestrians.

This is an incredible opportunity but we need your help to make sure regional councillors vote in favour on Wednesday, June 24.

What you can do

  1. Fill out this form to let your regional councillors know you support this proposal. You can use our talking points below, but local politicians have told us that short, personalized messages are much more effective than seeing the same detailed arguments repeatedly. You can include one or two reasons, but the important thing is to be clear that you support this proposal and hope they do too.
  1. Fill out the EngageWR survey about the proposal: Rapid Re-Allocation of Road Space for Active Transportation to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic. We recommend you also email your councillor, as that sends an even stronger message!

Why we like this proposal

This is an opportunity to encourage more people in the Region of Waterloo to choose cycling as a mode of transportation. Below, we outline eight reasons we think this is a slam dunk for the Region. The first four are the arguments we think will be most influential with regional councillors, but you can use whichever ones resonate most for you.

1. There is an immediate need for increased space for active transportation to allow physical distancing during the pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging people to get around by cycling and walking “whenever feasible”—and people are! Our urban trails are very busy and this proposal helps keep those trails and sidewalks open and safe for more pedestrians.

2. We can take advantage of this unique opportunity to encourage modal shift, but we need to act now.

By creating more bike lanes before more people return to work and school, we can help people who are avoiding transit shift to bikes instead of to cars—and show the many people taking up cycling right now that it’s a feasible option for their commute.

  • Eight schools would be served by the proposed Westmount bike lanes – imagine that many kids getting to school via active transportation, and the benefits to both mental and physical health!
  • We’re hearing from bike store owners that people are buying and fixing bikes in droves, including people who haven’t cycled before, or haven’t in years—and that they’re doing so because of the pandemic and the advice of the WHO and other public health officials. By adequately supporting people who are newly cycling, we can retain a higher proportion of them after the pandemic subsides. 
  • We need this modal shift in order to achieve Regional climate goals. Enabling new cyclists allows more residents to do their part to mitigate climate change—and to be healthier and save money while doing so!

3. Protected bike lanes calm traffic.

Slower roads improve safety for all road users and reduces noise for neighbours.

4. It’s a very cost-effective method of implementing new bike lanes

Some people claim this project costs a lot of money, but in fact it is only 0.3% of the Region’s Transportation capital budget.

  1. Everyone deserves equal access to outdoor space and active transportation. Bike lanes help provide this access.
  2. Bike lanes are good for business. Just ask the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.
  3. Semi-protected/protected bike lanes will get bikes off sidewalks, which we’re seeing more of as more new people take up cycling and are nervous about riding on the road without any protection from cars.
  4. These bike lanes will serve as an incredibly cost-effective pilot project and help gather data for future active transportation and road planning (especially given the upcoming work on Westmount Road).
Tell Regional Councillors you support the proposal!

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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.

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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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