[1]BELLEVILLE, ON (06/05/12) Members of the Chaingang Bicycle Club start out on their Sunday ride. Photo by Kristen Oelschlagel.
By: LaShaina Blair-White and Jordan Merkley
Wednesday’s Bike Summit is part of an on going effort of Belleville on Bikes to make the City of Belleville friendlier for cyclists.
Belleville on Bikes is an organization is made up of citizens and community agencies with an interest in promoting cycling within the City of Belleville.
According to the City of Belleville’s Transportation Master Plan, cycling is becoming an increasingly popular transportation mode in Belleville, but the city is not designed to safely accommodate cyclists.
“We’re kind of behind here. Other than our destination trails, we have no cycling infrastructure,” Rob Jakes, a member of the Belleville on Bikes steering committee, says,
“Drivers don’t know how to deal with cyclist on the road,” Jakes tells QNetNews.
Within the Transportation Master Plan, the City of Belleville has come up with a cycling network plan that will help to improve cycling facilities to benefit the residents of Belleville.
“A way to educate others is through signs; so that people are cognizant of cyclists,” says Jakes. “We hope to see some investment by the city to have some cycling infrastructure to make it safer for people to cycle.”
Along with accessibility and safety, a cycling network would support healthy living in the community. It is also a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
These are some of the issues that will be discussed at the Bike Summit June 25th.
The bike summit is to get people to think more about cycling, whether it’s about the cyclists or about the advantages that comes with cycling.
“People that are riding their bikes past businesses are going a lot slower, they are more inclined to stop if they see something that catches their interest. If you are in your car you are focused on getting to point A and B,” says Jakes.
It is hoped the plans for the cycling network will be implemented in the near future.