Cyclists and cars face off in Saskatoon

As the city grows, more cars are being added to Saskatoon's streets. That means potential confrontations between cyclists and drivers. 

Some veteran cyclists have suggestions to make the city more bike friendly.

"Commuting can be fairly challenging," said cyclist Cathy Watts. "The problems are really associated where there's high traffic, and no infrastructure. So, downtown would be a little more challenging. Now, a person who's used to that, they probably won't find it too difficult. But a person who's terrified of riding a bike would absolutely think you're crazy and would never go there. So, it's not really attracting new cyclists. It's not easy for a person who's not very confident to feel like they can take this on."

Bridge City Bicycle Co-op board member Jonathan Melville agrees, saying the downtown needs more cycling infrastructure.

"I think the biggest thing from our standpoint is people being more comfortable with bicycling, getting to know the city in terms of that, and getting out and trying it," said Bridge City Bicycle Co-op board member Jonathan Melville. "We just need that next step for business areas, where people can just ride their bike anywhere, park nearby, and check out places where they're driving by."

Meanwhile, some drivers complain that some cyclists don't follow the rules of the road, and that more bike lanes won't fix those problems.

"I'm a little bit biased, because I'm a big biker myself," said driver Kieren Britton. "But the bikes that can't choose whether to be a bike or a pedestrian, that's where you find some anger...A bike that is on the road and maybe saying it's a vehicle and resembling itself as a vehicle, will kind of do a turn and be a pedestrian just to get around a red light."

"Sometimes they kind of weave through the lanes," said Dana Schwark. "Cutting through in front and then maybe when there's a red light, cutting out, and going the opposite way."

While bike infrastructure is being built across the city, a recent plan to add more bike lanes in downtown Saskatoon has been put on hold. Saskatoon city council recently delayed a pilot project for bike lanes on 24th Street and 4th Avenue for a year.