Halifax Cycling Coalition seeks ideas to improve road safety

People are being encouraged to give suggestions about changing rules to improve cyclist, pedestrian and driver safety in Nova Scotia.

Halifax Cycling Coalition, with It's More than Buses, Walk 'n Roll Halifax, Bicycle Nova Scotia and the Ecology Action Centre, will collect ideas at a meeting Jan. 21 at the Halifax Central Library to pitch as amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act .

From there, they'll pass on those ideas in a meeting with the Nova Scotia transportation minister. 

It's an attempt to make public transportation, walking, and biking safer in Nova Scotia. 

After studying cities around North America, the collective has come up with almost 40 ideas to get the conversation going.

Some of those include:

• Rules against dooring, which is when a driver opens their door without checking for a cyclist
• Clear rules against right hooks, which is when a car passes a cyclist and then makes a right turn into the bike
• "Crosswalks" for bicycles in order to connect trails
• Increased penalties for distracted driving
• Penalties for road rage
• Expanded access for skateboards, longboards, scooters and similar devices

After the meeting with the minister, they'll ask for a province-wide consultation for changes to the act by this fall.

The last cycling-related change to the act was the rule where cars need to give bikes one metre of space when passing.