Ride with Candidates: Debbie Chapman – Kitchener Ward 9
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 Michael Burgess, on their ride with municipal candidate for Kitchener Ward 9, Debbie Chapman.
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.
We started our ride where the Iron Horse trail crosses Mill Street and cycled along the Iron Horse trail towards Ottawa Street. At Ottawa Street, we turned down Nyberg Street and connected back with the Iron Horse trail towards Rockway Gardens. We then went along Floral Crescent, Rockway Drive and onto Dixon and Eckert Street. After this we connected up with the trail through Wilson Park to Wilson Ave. After cycling on Wilson Ave for a while, we decided to turn back.
Along the route, we talked about:
- The Rockway Fairway project: this project is focused on the areas that we were cycling through. We talked about how the project team had to balance the needs of the cycling community with the needs of the garden community & historic preservation to come up with a solution that strikes the right balance for everyone. Debbie mentioned that she is a member of the garden committee, and how it was difficult to weigh the different opinions.
https://www.engagewr.ca/rockway-fairway
- The Wilson Ave bike lane project: this project created bike lanes on Wilson Ave from Wilson Park to Traynor Ave. We discussed how instead of going down to road level at every street crossing, there were continuous paths making for a smoother and more enjoyable ride – even compared with other routes in the region.
https://www.engagewr.ca/wilsonavenue
- Missing connections between routes: when riding our bicycles, both Debbie and I have encountered missing connections between otherwise great routes. We agreed that the city should continue to focus on ensuring that great routes have good connections between them.
- Wayfinding and branding for cycling and rolling: Debbie and I briefly discussed the Kitchener wayfinding project that provides signage and focuses on fixing any poor connections to ensure long, continuous routes between important destinations within Kitchener. She has used Route 1 (The Boardwalk) and mentioned there is room for improvement.
https://www.engagewr.ca/wayfinding
- Cyclists ringing bells: Debbie mentioned that a common complaint she gets from people is cyclists not using their bell and coming up quickly behind people on multi-use paths. She suggested that the city should install more visible signage notifying cyclists to ring their bells.
- Bike check: we briefly discussed the bike check program, which Debbie has used – I have crossed paths with her there several times as a volunteer! This is a city program that allows people to check their bike in, similar to how a coat check works. The program allows people to go to city events while leaving their bike supervised by volunteers, completely free of charge.