Workshop on Wheels
Cyclists showcase trails for city staff
KITCHENER — After biking for an hour on a variety of trails and cycling lanes, the group of 10 cyclists in Kitchener’s first “Workshop on Wheels” ground to a halt on Ottawa Street Saturday afternoon.
The cyclists had been headed down Ottawa on a wide multiuse trail, only to have the trail end abruptly at a sidewalk under construction. “We’re stranded,” exclaimed one cyclist, looking out at the busy four lanes of traffic that separated the group from the painted bike lane on the other side of the road.
Uncovering such realities about cycling in Kitchener is precisely the aim of the workshops.
This summer, Kitchener is hosting 10 bike rides they’re dubbing “Workshops on Wheels” — one in each of the city’s 10 wards — and two walks, one downtown and one in the suburbs, to hear from people about how the city can encourage more people to cycle or walk.
The city is updating its master plan for cycling and trails — the guiding document that sets out priorities for the next several years — and it makes sense to go talk to people out on the trails, said Barry Cronkite, Kitchener’s manager of transportation planning.
“We’re looking for creative ways to get people’s input,” Cronkite said. “If the idea is to get people to use these facilities, why not engage with them when they’re using them?”
Sometimes traffic plans can look great on paper, but the result for users is quite a different experience, Cronkite said, which is why the city wants to hear from the people who travel the city’s bike lanes and trails.
The rides, which are geared to cyclists of all abilities, run throughout July and August. Details about specific rides are on Kitchener’s website under “Getting around.”
“There’s a bit of everything on this ride, some good things and some bad things,” said Danny Pimentel, project manager for active transportation at the city, who led Saturday’s ride.
Saturday’s ride took about an hour. It led cyclists along everything from busy Lackner Boulevard, where the cycling lanes appeared and disappeared at regular intervals, to peaceful rides down leafy trails. There were discoveries even for some of the experienced cyclists.
“I drive by this literally every day, and I never knew there was any trail here,” said Marcus Drasdo when the cyclists emerged from Stanley Park Conservation Area onto a busy street.
Painted bike lanes don’t attract families, said William Lubitz, who often goes riding with his kids. He knows the law prohibits cycling on the sidewalk, but on busy roads, sidewalks are a better option than riding on the road beside buses, trucks and speeding cars. “We have young kids, so any sidewalk on a busy arterial road is a mixed-use trail for us,” he said.
After the ride, organizers handed out short surveys, and everyone enjoyed an ice cream.
The city wants the new plan to spell out a core network of connected bike routes across the city. It’s hoping to hear from residents about which routes the city should concentrate on connecting. It also aims to find out what discourages people from cycling or walking and to double — in five years and again in 10 — the number of biking and walking trips that people take.
The master plan update should be complete by the end of 2019.