CycleWR
Member loginBecome a member
Menu
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About CycleWR
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact us
  • Advocacy
    • Discover your Superpower: Walking & Wheeling to School
    • #HumansWhoCycleWR
    • Budget Advocacy
    • Rides with councillors
    • Cycling infrastructure map
    • The benefits of bike lanes (infographic)
    • Bike parking guide
    • I Bike, I Vote pledge
  • Get involved
  • Links
Menu
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!

Related

Join our mailing list to find out about events and ways to help

Talk to us

Email hello@cyclewr.ca

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

See what’s up on Instagram

cycle_wr

CycleWR
CycleWR is now a non-profit. Become a member today CycleWR is now a non-profit. Become a member today and help us change the conversation about cycling in Waterloo Region. Members help support and guide our work, get access to discounts, and more!Get your membership:
cyclewr.ca/join(Link in bio)
Cycling Risk SurveyCycleWR is keenly interested Cycling Risk SurveyCycleWR is keenly interested to learn more about how people in our community view cycling infrastructure. We have created a survey that delves into how people perceive the many infrastructure options that we find in Waterloo Region.We know that there is a lot of diversity in the comfort levels that people experience while cycling. We want to know: Will you only ride on trails and physically separated facilities? Which street designs do you find safest? How do you feel about one-way versus two-way cycle tracks? Which cycling facilities do you prefer to see when you are driving a car? We ask all these questions and more.This survey will inform our advocacy and the results will be shared both publicly and with municipal staff who are designing new facilities. The survey is quite detailed, so you’ll want to set aside 10-15 minutes to complete it. Please share it widely – we want to reach many people with varying levels of experience, from non-cyclists and beginners to daily riders.Start the survey now - the link is our bio (https://forms.gle/RLASz6joa27NUX8T7)Please respond by March 21st.Thank you!
What cycling projects are Waterloo, Kitchener, Cam What cycling projects are Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, and the Region funding in 2021? Find out in our budget analyses. Link in bio.
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 WaterlooCheck the link in our bio for meeting instructions.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Browse blog posts by category

  • Advocacy
  • CycleWR news
  • Cycling tips
  • Events
  • I bike I vote
  • Infrastructure
  • Rides with Candidates

Browse blog posts by tag

bicycle racks bike racks bike to school budgets cambridge covid-19 kitchener kitchener Ward 1 kitchener ward 7 kitchener ward 8 kitchener ward 9 kitchener ward 10 merch parking regional chair regional councillor region of waterloo waterloo waterloo mayor waterloo ward 3 waterloo ward 4 waterloo ward 5 waterloo ward 7
©2022 CycleWR | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme