Vandals target bike belonging to Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps — again
Mayor says the vandalism and criticism of the city's bike lane plans aren't connected
Vandals have targeted the mayor of Victoria's bike, again.
Mayor Lisa Helps was attending a film screening at the Vic Theatre Friday night when someone attached multiple locks to the spokes on her bicycle wheels.
"I could have gotten hurt. Not cool," Helps said.
"I would have started riding, it would have gotten caught in my brake and I would have gone head over heels."
Victoria has been expanding its network of bike lanes — the city opened its first protected bike lane last May, and is planning on building more of them.
But Helps said she doesn't think the vandalism and the criticism of the city's plans are connected.
"I don't want to attribute motivation," she said.
In 2015, the mayor's bike was dismantled for parts outside city hall while she was at a council meeting. Thieves stole the seat and tires from the bike.
"That one didn't feel quite so targeted," Helps said, noting that images of her bike have since been widely circulated. "This one felt different from that."
Another person at the event helped the mayor move the locks so she could ride home safely.
With files from CHEK News