10 people suggest ways to improve cycling in Kitchener
The City of Kitchener will soon be publishing the full results of a survey it conducted on the state of cycling.
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Over 1,000 people took part and offered their opinions on what they like and don't like about riding a bike on city streets.
We asked 10 cyclists in the city about their experiences on the road and where they would like to see more improvements.
Tyler Plante
Occupation: Works for an engineering company and a video production company.
"I take Lancaster, Westmount and Highland to get to work. None of those roads have a bike lane on them."
Kari Hueber
Occupation: Director of Audience Engagement, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
"I think there's a lot of both poor drivers and poor cyclists out there, so I think we can do a better job of just providing more and better education."
Mike & Kandace Boos
Occupation:
Mike - Works for an engineering software company.
Kandace - Stay at home mother.
Mike - "The biggest thing we could be doing is to be putting in protected bicycle lanes. These are bicycle lanes that are separated not just with a single line of paint but either with some kind of barrier."
Kandace - "Connecting current cycling infrastructure to each other. I feel like there's a whole lot of end of the road, just where bike lanes just stop."
Jennifer Konkle
Occupation: Works in communications for Conrad Grebel University College.
"If you go over the highway for example, suddenly it feels like you're going to [ride] onto the highway, there's suddenly no place to bike, which is scary. Especially [riding] with little kids. That's always the most worrisome part of our trek."
Sean Campbell
Occupation: Works at the University of Waterloo and for an environmental non-profit organization.
"If you're passing construction workers or police officers on the side of the road, you'll change lanes, you'll give them lots of space, we need that as well too. Whether it is broken glass, potholes, roadkill on the side, sometimes we do need to swerve. When you get close, it's intimidating for a cyclist and it does keep a lot of them off the road."
Chris Dewar
Occupation: Planning Technician for the City of Cambridge.
"For me to get to Cambridge, I'm a bit apprehensive about riding all the way down King Street to the 401, simply because there's no shoulder and no bike lane. Having more connections between routes would make it more feasible to ride more often to more places."
Daniel Allen
Occupation: Computer programmer at the University of Waterloo.
"I'd love to see a network of trails so that you can actually [go] in multiple directions from the Iron Horse Trail without having to bicycle on heavy traffic streets. I have a lot of sympathy for people who do bicycle on sidewalks even though they really shouldn't, because they just don't feel safe."
Sandra Reimer
Occupation: Writer and editor.
"Ottawa Street. It's really narrow. There are a lot of potholes. People go fast down the street, and it's just quite dangerous. Especially the stretch between King Street and Strasburg."
Greg Lehman
Occupation: Runs a marketing agency.
"I think just drivers being a little bit more aware. Not so much in the downtown core but I find in the other areas people really don't pay attention. So you really have to make sure you're watching because obviously if you get into an accident with a car you're probably going to lose if you're on a bike."
Sylvia Hook
Occupation: Freelance graphic designer.
"Better infrastructure means more people on the roads. More cyclists on the roads means that people are more used to cyclists on the roads, people know how to respond. Once people know how to respond it's safer for everyone."