Dear editor,
I am in full support of a pedestrian/bike bridge across the Courtenay River at the bottom of Sixth Street.
I have become an avid bike rider since I retired six years ago, riding about 300 km a month, mainly between Royston and Courtenay. I do all my grocery shopping by bicycle, which usually requires me to cross Fifth Street Bridge.
I ride in the centre of the lane crossing the bridge, the safest choice of a poor situation. I am sure drivers would like to see me somewhere else and pedestrians do not want me in their narrow space on the bridge sidewalk.
The bike/pedestrian bridge at Sixth Street makes perfect sense as it would connect the existing Courtenay Riverwalk bicycle path with east Courtenay. This is a safe and inexpensive alternative to another car crossing and it would encourage more cyclist to ride.
I have noticed a marked increase in car traffic over the last few years. I understand that there are at least 1,000 more cars coming to the valley every year with the increase in population.
Some serious planning must be done to accommodate this influx. All we need to look at is Victoria with its serious traffic jams.
Building roads to accommodate more cars is very expensive and in the end causes larger problems. Maybe we should try something different and invest a fraction of road building costs on improving bicycle paths.
Dave Hardie,
Royston
