Pedal pride: Calgarians celebrate World Bicycle Day with emphasis on pathway safety
Calgarians are embracing World Bicycle Day by strapping up their helmets and pedaling their way along city streets and the more than 1,000-kilometres of pathways.
The latest stretch of hot weather makes for ideal conditions but, as more people get outside, there's greater emphasis on properly sharing space.
"We want to make sure the pathways and our park systems are safe for everyone," said Ryan Pleckaitis, chief bylaw officer with the City of Calgary.
"We recognize that people riding bikes is a big part of recreational activities here in Calgary, but we have speed limits and we have officers who will set up speed traps."
The current speed limit for the majority of city pathways is 20 km/h, but can be as low as 10 km/h in specific areas.
A lack of proper signage in tighter spaces with blind corners is of significant concern to many Calgarians, including Douglasdale resident David Bolger.
He says many cyclists in the southeast community put pedestrians at risk by riding at excessive speeds and not using bells to alert those around them.
"It’s just a real concern for me that people should be looking out for each other, not speeding, not taking up the whole pathway, I mean there are no angels on either side," said Bolger of the cyclist and pedestrian issues.
"More bylaw officers would help, but we need to educate everybody. I don’t know what the solution is, short of putting in speed bumps."
CYCLING SPEED LIMIT FINES OF UP TO $400
The current fine for speeding while cycling jumped to as high as $400 as of March 2019.
Cyclists going up to 30 km/h can be fined up to $150 and those reaching speeds above that can be fined the maximum.
Speed limits are subject to weather conditions and cyclists could be potentially fined for travelling at unsafe speeds even without exceeding the posted limit.
Gary Millard, president of Bike Calgary, doesn’t take issue with the fines, but rather the speed limits itself.
He says most cyclists travel safely between 25 km/ h and 30km/h and keeping the limit at 20 km/h could make people less likely to consider cycling as their daily mode of transportation.
Other avid cyclists like David Niscak agree that higher speeds are essential for training for longer endurance events such as triathlons, but says pathways aren't the place for that.
"Certainly, you see a lot of cyclists on the bike paths abusing the speed limits and going faster than they should which is unfortunate because it ruins the experience for both cyclists as well as the pedestrians," Niscak said.
"If you want to be picking up speed and racing, we have great opportunity around Calgary to get out on the roads and go as fast as you want."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.