Dear editor,
Courtenay should build a bike/pedestrian bridge across the Courtenay River at Sixth Street.
Right now there is no convenient way to cross the Courtenay River by bicycle. It is inconvenient to have to walk your bicycle across either bridge in the pedestrian lane. It is too dangerous to ride across the 17th Street Bridge with narrow tires on the metal surface. The surface on 5th Street Bridge is okay to ride across and being a relatively short bridge a bicycle does not slow down traffic for long. However, bicycles do upset some drivers.
I have been riding an electric-assist bicycle year-round for the last 12 years. I have noticed a great increase in the number of cyclists and electric-assisted bicycles in the last few years. Courtenay has done a great job for bicycles along Fitzgerald Avenue, the Courtenay River Parkway and upper 5th Street. The main street, Cliff Avenue, however, is unsafe for both cyclists and pedestrians. It is only designed for cars. The number of cyclists is just going to increase and we accommodate this new reality. The new 6th Street Bridge must be as wide as possible to make it safe for pedestrians and cyclists for many years to come.
David Hardie,
Royston
