Clearing a bike grid on K-W trails could help keep cyclists safe in winter, advocate says

More people are putting on their warmest gear and cycling through the winter months, but one advocate says they are often facing snow-covered bike lanes which makes getting around Kitchener and Waterloo unsafe.

Janice Jim is an avid cyclist and the vice president of Cycle WR, a local advocacy group. She bikes in the winter and says it's a "mixed bag" of conditions between the two cities.

"There's icy spots, there's uncleared spots. Even in downtown Kitchener, the high use cycling grids, the two way bike lanes, half of it could be cleared and half of it is covered in ice," she said in an interview on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris.

"There needs to be something done because we've got a great cycling grid in downtown Kitchener, got a great cycling grid in uptown Waterloo and beyond and they're not usable and they're dangerous."

University Avenue in Waterloo is often a concern, Jim said, and people end up cycling in traffic. When she does that, "then drivers would get angry at you," especially during rush hour.

One spot that is often cleared well, though, is the Iron Horse Trail, Jim said.

Jim says clearing bike lanes is "an equity issue for everyone" because families, people pushing strollers or those with mobility devices also need clear pathways.

Cities say crews focus on bike lanes

A spokesperson for the City of Kitchener said in an email that staff aim to clear bike lanes within 24 hours of a snowfall and they're cleared according to the provincially mandated minimum maintenance standards.

"Like all road infrastructure, bike lanes are monitored on a regular basis," the city said. "Sometimes weather conditions, such as persistent snow or high winds or extremely cold temps — or a combination — are encountered and we thank users for patience as we work hard to provide a safe transportation system."

The city maintains more than 300 km of separated bike lanes and trails. So far this winter, city crews have taken away 200 triaxles of snow from city roads — or about 3,000 metric tonnes — per night when required, with priority focus being on clearing bike lanes, the city said.

Bob Henderson, director of transportation services for the City of Waterloo, said in an email that the city is "committed to supporting active transportation throughout the year."

"Bike lanes and multi-use paths are serviced with different snow clearing equipment and resources than roads, and service times for bike lanes or trails may be different from the roadway," Henderson said.

The storm earlier this month "was particularly tough to manage: because there was a large amount of snow followed by freezing temperatures that were too cold for salt to work properly, he said.

"Crews were working for some time on overall cleanup, addressing problem areas on bike lanes, multi-use trails, sidewalks and roadways," Henderson said.

In Cambridge, bike lanes are serviced at the same time as the city's roads, a spokesperson said in an email.

"Servicing a road and bike lane removes the majority of the snow and ice and may be treated with sand and/or salt to provide traction for users in accordance with regulations," the emailed statement said.

"We remind all users of the roads and bike lanes to drive according to the weather and actual conditions of the road as the surface may be variable as weather conditions change throughout the day."