(On Aug. 31) I participated in a ride to educate both cyclists and drivers about sharing the road. Unfortunately the need for change was made abundantly clear.  After (Olympic cross-country skier) Devon Kershaw and the family of Sophie Manarin completed a moment of silence for Sophie, a cyclist who was struck and killed in 2001, we started back on our ride. 

Then, within 100 meters of where Sophie had been hit and 200 feet in front of me, a cyclist was hit by a car. This on a ride with hundreds of cyclists and a police escort. How much clearer do things need to get? Bike paths and proper infrastructure are a necessity.

Our city has seen council appointed committee after council appointed committee tell us of the need for bike paths since the ‘70s. My own mother was a bike safety advocate for years in this city, before finally giving up. 

She now lives in Vancouver with its world class bike infrastructure. Yet here in Sudbury we see more roads being built and rebuilt with no regard for cyclists.  Recently Rainbow Routes released the Sustainable Mobility Plan to a chorus of councillors patting themselves on the back about all they have already done, with one councillor going as far as saying they have already done enough.  

This current council has allowed every major street in Sudbury to be rebuilt without proper lanes. We should be ashamed as a city that we allow this to continue.

Jeff MacIntyre
Ward 12 municipal election
candidate
Greater Sudbury