Youth launch for the city’s first protected bike lanes endorsed by the council committee

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A group of “wildly talented” young environmentalists is making serious progress building protected bike lanes, a first for Windsor after years of unsuccessful lobbying.

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This week, the city’s Standing Committee on Environment, Transportation, and Public Safety endorsed the proposal to place protected bike lanes along a stretch of University Avenue West for a pilot project that, with city council approval in the next few years weeks, it would start next spring.

“We know that it is something that is doable, we know that it is something that will help people and it is something that we need to start doing now,” Lyra Sheldon, president of the Windsor-Essex Youth Climate Council, one-year-old said Thursday. , explaining that these lanes, physically separated from cars, significantly reduce cyclist deaths. “They are also safer for pedestrians and cars. When bicyclists have a place to safely ride their bikes, they will not resort to using sidewalks. “

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It can be everything we want it to be

It’s “shocking” that Windsor still doesn’t have protected bike lanes, said Lori Newton, CEO of Bike Windsor Essex, noting that most other communities are on the right track with them, including several municipalities in the county. The youth climate council began its pilot project proposal several months ago, hoping to get it up and running in time for the start of school in September. Because it is a temporary setting, the city could quickly create protected bike lanes with planters or other available materials. The group first went to the Windsor Essex County Environment Committee, which approved the plan in the summer and sent it to the standing committee, the normal process for presenting a proposal to the council.

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“It shouldn’t be that difficult to test a project for separate bike lanes,” Newton said. “I applaud the students for persevering and forging ahead.”

Ward 4 Coun. Chris Holt, who chairs the standing committee, expressed his enthusiasm for the emerging project, which would be carried out in partnership with the University of Windsor. He confirmed that it would be “the first protected bike lane, we don’t have any yet.”

“It makes sense that by installing protected bike lanes, everyone is safer – drivers and cyclists,” he said. “And it will encourage people to go out and use them in larger quantities.”

He said the details still need to be worked out, but because it’s temporary, it won’t be expensive to set it up. With a safer route, college students will choose to ride their bikes rather than going to and from downtown, he said. Bird Canada, the e-scooter sharing program that started in Windsor this year, is excited about the proposal. And increasing the number of people taking electric bicycles and scooters instead of cars will reduce the demand for downtown parking and make it available for affordable housing, Holt said.

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“There are so many ripples that come with changing transportation habits that it is wise for us to experiment with some of these things.”

He said members of the youth climate council did a great job defending his case. “These are tremendously talented young people. I really hope they continue to participate in the political process because they are good. “

University Avenue is currently undergoing an environmental assessment that is the starting point for an expensive overhaul of the wide, underused street. The youth climate council wants to run the Protected Bike Lanes pilot project to collect data demonstrating their benefits in terms of increased cycling and improved safety, so they will be the # 1 priority when University Avenue is redeveloped.

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It is one of the main routes in the city’s recently approved Active Transportation Master Plan, said council treasurer and chair of research and advocacy, Sophie Waters.

“And it is also a very wide road that has a lot of room for lanes. It is one of the areas where we will receive the least pushback (residents and businesses sometimes oppose separate bike lanes if they eliminate parking spaces) because there is actually space for bike lanes. “

Council members said bike lanes have been shown to improve spending on area businesses, improve the environment due to fewer car trips, and encourage immigrants and low-income people to ride bikes. due to increased security.

Vice President Jana Jandal Alrifai said that while the short-term goal is to increase the number and broaden the demographics of people who ride bicycles on University Avenue, “I think in the long term we want to show that Windsor can be a friendly city. bikes, it can be a climate friendly city, it can be youth friendly. It can be everything we want it to be. “

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