Leading up to the 2022 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 volunteer Heather took Jim Erb, candidate for Regional Council, Waterloo, out for a ride. Here’s what they had to say about the ride:
Jim and I road met up in Moses Springer Park for a lovely (if slightly cool) fall ride. Jim is a regular cyclist (he’s said he’s done about 70% of his canvassing by bike). I selected a route I take frequently to work & to access Uptown Waterloo. We travelled across the bridge on to Marshall and up to cross Weber. We chatted about the challenge of crossing Weber St, especially when traffic is heavy. We took the trail up to Bridgeport, where I noted that the bike signal sensor at Bridgeport works well but the one at Erb doesn’t. Jim said he’d look into the issue at Erb. Continuing on the trail we turned right onto the protected lanes at Erb. Crossing Caroline, we were able to just go as the train had blocked traffic. I noted that being able to cross while train gates were down was about the only part of that intersection that works well. We continued up the trail through to Waterloo park, and stopped to admire the new boardwalk that just opened. Continuing on we cross the tracks on to Father David Bauer. The city has just put in a second curb cut that makes it much easier to access the bike lanes.
On the return trip, Jim noted that he’s been advocating to have Erb & Bridgeport become two way streets through the core area as that would make it feel less like you’re riding or walking next to a highway. We chatted about the planned expansion of the protected lanes on Erb and Bridgeport. We both agreed that regardless of the design selected in the end, it would be a huge boost to connectivity. Jim shared that he still finds that most folks he’s talking to don’t quite get why cycling is important and that the “Car is King/Queen” mentality is still dominant in our region. As we travelled back up Erb, cars waiting to turn left on to Albert actually stopped and waited for us, a rarity. We also managed to time the crossing at Weber st such that we could right across. I decided Jim is my good luck charm, as that pretty much never happens when I’m riding solo. As we parted, Jim road off to continue canvassing by bike.
