Drivers too fast, bike lane construction too slow, say Halifax cyclists
Fully connected network in Halifax should be a priority as more people start biking to work, advocate says
Simon Green was pedalling home from work along Herring Cove Road in Halifax, N.S., in mid-May when he was suddenly knocked off his bike.
"A car collided with me from behind," Green said.
He was about to turn right onto Osborne Street when he said he was right-hooked — a term used to describe a driver overtaking a bicycle rider to make a right turn.
"I was in shock," he said. "After the initial adrenaline rush came off, I realized, you know, 'I'm quite sore all over.'"
He said his neck is sore and his arm is "pretty beat up."
Green's experience isn't uncommon. And as more people turn to active transportation to avoid paying record-high gas prices, cyclists and cycling advocates say the construction of protected bike lanes in Halifax needs to be expedited.
A 'challenging' intersection
Coun. Shawn Cleary said the intersection where Green was hit is challenging for vulnerable road users, like cyclists, for a number of reasons.
"You do have a high volume of traffic coming down Herring Cove Road," Cleary said of the arterial road that connects Spryfield to the peninsula via the Armdale roundabout.
"The number of requests that I get probably number in at least one or two a month of people from the neighbourhood saying, you know, we'd really like to have signals at this intersection to make it safer."
Fully connected infrastructure 'a few years away'
Beyond the Osborne intersection, Cleary said the municipality is buying property along Herring Cove Road so narrower segments can be expanded to accommodate protected bike lanes and bus lanes.
The Herring Cove Road redesign is one of several projects underway in Halifax to create a fully-integrated active transportation network across the municipality.
Cleary said the Herring Cove project is still "a few years away" from completion.
As an interim measure, Cleary said temporary measures, like precast curbing, are being used to keep vulnerable road users safe "quickly and inexpensively."
But Ellen Riopelle, an operations co-ordinator with the Halifax Cycling Coalition, said the pace of progress on bicycle infrastructure in Halifax is too slow.
"I think, especially with gas prices right now, people are kind of looking for that cheaper alternative that's a bit better for the environment to get to where they need to go," Riopelle said.
Riopelle said the coalition's membership has spiked this spring. While she said it's great to see more people interested in learning how to cycle safely, she would like to see more drivers taking the coalition's courses, too.
"When we think about education, that should be on everyone — not just people biking," she said.
Riopelle was notified about Green's collision via the coalition's Slack group, where she also heard about Jeff White's collision.
In early May, White was in a collision in a residential neighbourhood.
He was riding to work along Willett Street when he said he was right-hooked by a truck at the Frederick Avenue intersection.
"I was doing about 30km/h at the time, which is more than enough pace to go flying," White said.
White said he doesn't remember the crash — he recalled that it was a sunny day but was later told it was raining — but a witness told him the collision sent him flying over the hood of the truck into a van at a stop sign on the opposite side of the street.
"I guess I kind of just kept going," White said. "Then [I] called my wife and she came down and realized how out of it I was and called 911."
An ambulance took White to the hospital where he said he was diagnosed with a concussion and bruised ribs.
White said if more drivers tried cycling, perhaps they would be more aware of cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
"One of the things that cyclists realize very early on is that their head's on a swivel," White said. "And then when you get in a car, you find you're actually paying better attention."
Both Green and White have installed cameras on their bikes to capture collisions or close calls.
Green had installed his after a near collision a few weeks before his crash.
"You shouldn't have to put a dashcam on your bike," Green said. "I'm glad I had it turned on so [I] caught that incident."
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