To the editor:
The provincial government supports Bike to Work Week [May 30- June 5] on its websites.
Unfortunately, the shoulders of the roadways that cyclists must ride on do not live up to those expectations.
The snow has been gone from roadways for quite some time now, but the debris that accumulates on the shoulders of the highways over the winter still remains in many places. This debris makes riding more difficult and dangerous than it needs to be.
The option to ride in the gravel increases the risk of flats and loss of control. Either of which is quite frightening to both the cyclist and the passing motorists given the differences in speed.
So, the cyclists are forced to move to their left, which places them closer to the white line separating the shoulder and the roadway. I am certain that many passing motorists wonder why the cyclists don’t move farther right to increase the margin for error.
When the decision was made to edge the roadways with rumble strips, its unintended effect was to narrow the shoulders of the roads. When the roads are resurfaced, the shoulders don’t usually get resurfacing.
These issues combined with inadequate cleaning of the shoulders makes for a narrow strip of undamaged pavement that a cyclist must negotiate and increases the odds of unwanted interaction between cyclists and automobiles.
Ask cyclists how they like having two tons of steel pass close by their left him at 100 km/h and you will hear how they wish they had another option.
Jon Sortome
108 Mile Ranch
