The death of Louise Leyland has shaken the small village of Queenston, whose residents have been fighting to improve traffic safety in the community for years.

While out walking on Saturday afternoon, Leyland was tragically struck and killed by a cyclist on Queenston Street near Willowbank. 

The retired teacher and board member of the Friends of Fort George was passionate about Niagara-on-the-Lake history and was active in the community.

Niagara Regional Police said she was hit by a 64-year-old cyclist as she crossed from the east to the west side of the narrow residential street.

The unidentified cyclist was southbound, riding toward the escarpment, police said.

Detectives from the police force’s collision reconstruction unit are leading the investigation with the help of detectives from the forensic services unit.

Jim Armstong, president of the Queenston Residents’ Association, was devastated by news of Leyland’s death.

And, like many in the community, he wants to see changes made to control traffic and prevent future tragedies.

“This one is so tragic. It’s unspeakable and we never really thought it would be a bike and pedestrian issue,” he said.

“Pre-COVID we were talking to the town by email, trying to find out how to drop the speed limit here and encouraging the town to have a community meeting to look at some of these issues around parking and the speed limit, and maybe making a community safety zone,” Armstrong said.

For the most part, there are no sidewalks and typically traffic is moving quickly, he added, and often there’s “no audible signal that they are coming, no bells, no horn.”

“Nobody ever stops and bikes wipe out on the far side frequently,” he said. 

Tracee Smith, another Queenston resident and member of the association, told The Lake Report that she contacted the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake about a year ago with that very concern in mind.

“We’ve seen so many near-death accidents happen,” she said.

“We see cyclists wipe out all the time, especially as tourist season picks up.” 

Smith described several instances of cyclists jumping curbs, cars getting T-boned, mailboxes being hit and, on some occasions, ambulances being called. 

“It’s awful and we’ve been saying this for years. I have an email to the town from last August where I said to them, ‘You guys need to do something because someone’s going to die.’ ”

Her close friend and neighbour, Sandra Gowans, remembers Leyland’s deep love of learning and history.

“Her favourite thing was working with the Friends of Fort George, particularly at (Queenston) Heights, being the teacher that she was and she loved teaching the students,” said Gowans. 

Throughout her eventful life, Leyland wore many hats, one of which was being a teacher in Niagara for years. She is survived by her husband Don and sons Sean and Tyler.

Sean described the passion his mother had for her work and her ability to touch the lives of many.  

“Man, she was strong, persistent and strong,” he said.

“She just got things done. You hear stories, especially from her generation, about how women weren’t supposed to be like that, you know?” he said.

“Mom just turned around and said ‘That’s not the life I want. I want a life that’s better than that, that’s fuller than that. I don’t want to just be a housewife and have kids, I want to have a career.’ ”

A private family service will be held and a community celebration of her life is planned for mid-May. Details will be posted on the website of the George Darte Funeral Chapel in St. Catharines.

Recalling some of the standout moments in Leyland’s past, her lifelong friend, Coun. Sandra O’Connor, spoke of her generosity and passion.

“She was more like a sister to me than a friend. She’d been in my life since I was three years old. She was my matron of honour. Our lives were always intertwined even though I didn’t always live close,” O’Connor said. 

“She was a teacher for many, many years, she was also on the board of directors for the Friends of Fort George and she was a Reiki master and often helped out at Wellspring.”

One moment in their lives O’Connor says particularly stands out was during the 1955 World Scout Jamboree in NOTL, the first ever to be held in Canada.

Leyland, who was volunteering, caught the attention of June Carter Cash, whose boys were at the Jamboree. She asked young Leyland to be her children’s summer caregiver.

“She went to Nashville that summer, watched the kids and met Johnny Cash.”

Most of all, Leyland is remembered as an active member of the community and a friend to all she met. 

Gowans was thankful for sharing time with Leyland, especially on their walks together and said many in the community likely feel the same. 

“We talked and walked for about an hour or more sometimes. I can think of all the conversations and you know it was a bit of anything and everything. It was like therapy. Whenever I’d get frustrated I’d call her up and ask ‘Can you go for a walk?’ ”

“She always seemed to know what to say if you were feeling down or just to cheer you up and I’ll miss her sense of humour and smile,” said Gowans. 

In the wake of her death, Queenston residents are as dedicated as ever to getting the Town  of NOTL to make their community safer for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Smith said this preventable crash unfortunately doesn’t come as a surprise.

“I’ll be shocked to see if the town actually does something, to be honest. God knows residents have been complaining about this for years.”

Armstrong said the residents association has already begun more work in hopes of forcing change.

“The bottom line is we want to reopen our conversation with the town about a number of safety issues in Queenston and see what solutions there might be.”