Ride with Candidates: Aalaa Rehman – Kitchener Ward 10

For the 2026 municipal elections, CycleWR volunteers have been taking municipal electoral candidates on bike rides to show off the best and worst of the cycling infrastructure in their ward/city/region.

Below is a summary written by CycleWR volunteer James Crawford on their walk with municipal candidate for Kitchener Ward 10, Aalaa Rehman.

Disclaimer: CycleWR is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse a 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.

Aalaa and I met up tuesday and had a walk around our neighbourhood. My write-up is below, sorry for the delay in getting this sent over.

Aalaa and I walked up and down Margaret street and through the Breithaupt neighbourhood. Margaret is a good case study as it transitions between our neighbourhood and the downtown market: painted curb lane, separated lane with a hard barrier, then MUP south of Victoria. To get to the market from there, you need to take Queen with the narrow road and sharrows, before finding safe cycle infrastructure again on Duke.

We discussed cycling, accessibility, and equity with regards to mobility. Equity was a recurring theme in our discussions in terms of access for cyclists and pedestrians. Aalaa agreed that a public bike share instead of a private corporate one would drive better results in terms of access and pricing.

Aalaa shared fond memories of learning how to bike from a non-profit in Kitchener. She said this was a great way to learn riding and bond with her siblings, and that it informs her desire to have more education and awareness campaigns. Education for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers could reduce negative interactions, and she brought up education and outreach campaigns a couple times, particularly with regards to the influx of students the region gets every year.

Aalaa was hit by a motorist at the age of 12, which came up as we were discussing Margaret’s bike lanes. Fully separated bike lanes with a hard barrier (as found at the south end of Margaret just north of Victoria) offer much more protection and confidence to cyclists than the painted lanes further up the road. Separated, safe infrastructure encourages cyclists to get out and try riding.

The Margaret painted lanes also brought up winter accessibility. In winter, cycle and pedestrian infrastructure are often not cleared adequately, and drivers will find their own ‘path of least resistance’ which may end up crossing through the painted bike lanes. Aalaa mentioned how snow piles on sidewalks and at intersections form a literal barrier to winter accessibility. For able-bodied and appropriately dressed people, the snow is manageable, but for other people it might be a serious block in your path, or damp cold legs for the rest of the day.

Aside from cycling, Aalaa mentioned that she would like local government to be more accessible, specifically in terms of:

• plain non-legalese language
• access to translations for common languages in the region
• access to meetings outside of working hours where people may not be able to attend
• summaries for public review without needing to watch long sessions in their entirety