Daniel Barrette, a cyclist who relocated to Greater Sudbury from “bicycle friendly” Ottawa, said his wife refuses to bike around town because she is afraid for her safety.
He was at the June 16 policy committee meeting at Tom Davies Square to listen to a presentation of the Rainbow Routes Sustainable Mobility Plan, which covered three modes of transportation — walking, cycling, and public transportation.
The report was written following a survey conducted this past winter. Participating residents pointed out several issues that created barriers to walking, cycling, or using transit to get around Greater Sudbury.
“Eighty-two per cent of those surveyed said they own a bike, but only half use it,” Deb McIntosh, executive director of Rainbow Routes, said. “They told us there are few places to lock them up in public or private spaces. All of those who owned bikes had personally experienced their bikes being stolen stolen.”
Another major barrier to more bicycle use was safety. Safety was also a concern to pedestrians.
“Between 2004 and 2008, an average of 329 cyclists and 90 pedestrians per year sustained an injury which required a hospital visit,” the report cited. “In 2009, four pedestrians and one cyclist died travelling throughout the city.”
Barrette and some of his friends are starting a new grassroots cyclist group, the Sudbury Cyclist Union, to lobby for better infrastructure for cyclists.
“We want to raise the awareness of cycling in the Sudbury community,” Barrette said. “As far as I know there is no real community based grassroots cycling group in the city.” He said his group was not tied to the City of Greater Sudbury in any way unlike the already existing bicycle advisory committee.
He said there needs to be more bike paths, bike racks and more consideration of cycling when the city's infrastructure is being renewed or built.
Barrette said he is amazed bike lanes were not planned in the road construction in the south end of the city where he lives.
But Greg Clausen, Greater Sudbury general manager of infrastructure, said adding features such as bicycle lanes takes longer and is more expensive. Also, much of the the federal infrastructure funding demanded the projects be underway quickly and be “shovel ready.” Adding bike lanes would require acquiring property beside the road, as well as designing the pathways.
The city also doesn't have a reserve specifically for cyclist-related infrastructure. That means bicycle lanes have to compete with other road-related priorities.
“The desire is there to make it happen, but for us it is a long term goal,” Clausen said.
He said he was encouraged that the Sustainable Mobility Plan had mapping in the document that indicated the priorities of the cyclist and pedestrian community in the city.
“If we know what their priorities for bike routes are then that makes it much easier for us to plan for them.”
The report also criticized Greater Sudbury Transit, noting it was almost three times lower than the provincial average. The provincial average for public ridership is 13 per cent, while Greater Sudbury only rated a five per cent.
McIntosh said many transit stops are inaccessible or unsafe, due to a lack of sidewalks and shelters. Information on bus times is limited, and parents with toddlers face restrictions on buses, such as having to remove them from strollers.
The report also noted the cost of transit fares and passes are too expensive for most low income people.
But that drew a sharp response from Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis, who called the report “very negative.”
“I have not been this scolded since I was a kid,” he said.
Dupuis called transit a “great success” for the city, noting that in 2000, it cost $5 to ride from Hanmer to the city core. The creation of standardized rates across the city means the fare is now $2.50.
He said the city has spent a lot of money expanding the transcab service to reach outlying areas, while eliminating the $2 transcab fare.
He noted the city has also bought new buses with entrance ramps that can be lowered to accommodate wheelchairs.
For more information about the Sustainable Mobility Plan, visit www.rainbowroutes.com.
For more information on the Sudbury Cyclists Union, e-mail [email protected], visit them on Facebook, or attend its June 24 meeting, held at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library, room 1, 74 McKenzie St.
Sustainable Mobility Plan highlights
- about one third Greater Sudbury's population doesn't drive
- the estimated monthly cost of operating a vehicle is $700
- 63 per cent of the population is overweight, compared to the provincial average of 52 per cent
- Greater Sudbury children are, on average, 12 pounds heavier and are weaker than they were 30 years ago