Ride with Candidates: Simon Guthrie, Kitchener Regional Council

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 Adrian Vantyghem, on their ride with municipal candidate for Kitchener Regional Council, Simon Guthrie.

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 at the Krug Plaza and had a brief discussion about the current redevelopment plan. We took River Road to the new separated bike lane on Frederick, which we used to start our loop along Regional roads. Our route highlighted the differences between the multi-use paths and painted bike lanes on Victoria, Lackner, and Ottawa. We then connected to Route 2 of Kitchener’s active transportation network to return to the Krug Plaza.

Simon is an avid cyclist, having cycled over 82000 km over the last 20 years. He primarily cycles recreationally, whether it’s participating in triathlons or going for a ride with his family.

We had a long discussion during our ride that included the following. 

• We got stuck waiting to turn left at our first traffic light (at Krug/River). The sensors do not detect cyclists and the light only changes if that sensor or the pedestrian crossing button have been triggered. Even when cars got there to turn right, they cleared the intersection quickly enough that the countdown restarted and we had to keep waiting. We either had to wait for enough cars to pile up that it caused the light to change, press the pedestrian button ourselves, or cross illegally.
• Our ride showcased the safety differences in multi-use paths, particularly between Victoria and Lackner. On Lackner the MUP is completely separated from cars, with intersections being the only points of conflict. That felt incredibly safe. Conversely while riding on Victoria we were constantly on alert for the possibility of a right hook. The numerous plaza entrances made the ride feel dangerous. Even just on Victoria the stretches that have a small buffer between the MUP and the road felt much safer than those that did not. And when there was no buffer we had to contend with cars blocking the MUP while waiting to turn onto Victoria.
• At the Ottawa/River intersection we paused to discuss the (lack of) infrastructure. The southbound painted bike lane on River merges into a right turn lane. Most people who biked through that intersection were on the sidewalk.
• At Ottawa/Franklin I pointed out the lack of space when trying to turn left onto Franklin. There is no space to stop and wait in the bike lane so one has to block bike traffic, move their bike onto the sidewalk, or find a chance to enter the left turn lane on Ottawa.
• Simon asked about the connectivity to downtown via Route 2 of Kitchener’s active transportation network. I said that overall the route is quite good. East Ave in particular was recently redone to include a grade-separated bike lane with a raised intersection at Chapel.
  My main problem is in trying to cross Ottawa. While pedestrians are directed along Franklin, cyclists are diverted to a pedestrian refuge near the highway entrance because the MUP on Ottawa does not connect to Franklin. Simon commented that pedestrian refuges do not have a lot of space for bikes, and I recounted my difficulties in trying to use them with a bike trailer or while part of a group.
  Since Route 2 runs along the east side of downtown we also discussed how entering or crossing downtown can be difficult.
• Simon expressed his strong support for the bike cages in the City of Kitchener’s parking garages and his interest in that being turned into a unified Regional program.