The head of the Cowan Heights Community Association says people in her neighbourhood have not been properly consulted regarding bike lanes in the area, despite comments made by St. John's Coun. Art Puddister.

On Monday, Puddister told council that "bicycles aren't being used" in bike lanes around Cowan Heights and Airport Heights, and that the spaces would be better utilized for vehicle parking.

Maureen Power, who is also an avid biker, said the neighbourhood association is unaware of any consultation with people in the area regarding the bike lanes, which calls into question Puddister's claim. She feels the city had several opportunities to engage with the association — and have never done so.

"They didn't actually contact us or talk to anybody in the community about what we wanted," she told the St. John's Morning Show.

"We have so many issues that need to be addressed, sitting in your window counting cyclists is probably not the best use of [Puddister's] time."

Power posted a poll in the Facebook group for the neighbourhood association, asking Cowan Heights residents if they wanted to keep the bike lanes. She said it resulted in virtual 50/50 split, with slightly more people actually voting to keep the lanes for just bicycles.

While she says there probably are streets where the bike lanes are underused, Power and other bikers do use them every day and would like to be part of the conversation around getting rid of them.

Power feels ultimately bike lanes exist to protect people from accidents, and to eliminate them sends a message that parking is more important than the safety of cyclists.

"Why not encourage something that is meant to protect people?" she said. "How can you not implement something that's there for safety reasons?"