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Niagara Falls
Monday, December 9, 2024
Letter: Ideas for improving cycling safety on the roads of NOTL

Dear editor:

I would like to agree and disagree with the writer of the letter in the Sept. 12 issue which says the town and Region of Niagara are letting us down on road and cycling infrastructure.

I certainly agree that there should be more and stronger streetlights.

While King and Queen streets are well-lit, other major thoroughfares such as Mississaugua (note I am using the Niagara-on-the-Lake spelling) and Charlotte are not. Perhaps the many ghosts in town enjoy this, but live people do not.

However, I disagree with the need for elaborate “Complete Streets” and the the writer's suggestion that there be sidewalks on both sides of Mississagua/Niagara Stone Road (Highway 55).

I don't know if the author was in town when the Bob Howse Trail was built. It took years of negotiation with all the property owners whose driveways would be crossed before it was built.

I can't imagine going through that on the west side of the road which has many more houses and businesses.

What is needed, though, are signs on the west side of Highway 55, with arrows pointing to the pedestrian/bicycle trail on the other side.

The Lake Report's article this summer about bicycle rental shops and the guidance they give was informative.

Some suggest that cyclists ride several feet from the edge of the road, others on the side of the road, some suggest that cyclists ride several abreast, while others suggest going single file. This is an area where town council should step in and pass regulations.

Each summer, I marvel at the way tourists in this town behave and I think, “I have seen it all,” only to be amazed once again.

Not long ago, on a Saturday, I saw two people riding tricycles single file on the Stone Road near the Virgil Valu-Mart, just feet from the Bob Howse Trail.

Cars patiently crept behind them until they could pass when there was a gap in the nearly steady traffic in the southbound lane.

Did the two tricyclists know there was a cycling trail in Virgil or did they choose to ignore it?

I'd like to think if there were a sign pointing to the trail, they would have used it and not endangered their lives as well as creating a challenging traffic problem.

Elizabeth Masson

NOTL

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