On Monday, October 21, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry counties council received updates about cycling safety concerns along county roads.
The Ontario Highway Traffic Act classifies cyclists as slow-moving vehicles, which must travel on the right side of the lane and follow the rules of the road. As portions of County Road 2 through South Dundas, South Stormont, and South Glengarry are part of the Waterfront Trail, calls for improved safety features have been made by community advocates to ensure the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, and motor vehicles along county roads. The Waterfront Trail converges across multiple communities in the province.
Councillor Marc St. Pierre told council that up to 15,000 cyclists make use of the county system alone and stands as a reason why improvements should be made to ensure their safety. He also suggested that steps should be taken to get potential safety decisions right and set up a framework of what council would like to see moving forward.
All councillors agreed that safety is a top concern, however, as Councillor Carma Williams stated, “We should move cautiously with this. We need to know that there will not be a conflict between users of county roads,” including between cyclists, joggers, runners, cars, and farm vehicles from the agricultural community.
Some of the next steps presented to council included hiring a qualified cycling safety consultant which would be led by South Stormont, conducting further studies and counts. Additional suggestions surrounding cyclist markings, signs, and potential by-laws were shared in the meeting.
Councillor Steve Densham said that he saw control of initiatives like this as being the responsibility of individual counties. He further explained that safety is indeed a concern and that some modest support for funding projects such as this is acceptable.
“We need to address the high-cyclist areas first,” Councillor Bryan McGillis stated. He then said that the number one priority should be safety, but that council’s decisions would need to be consistent or similar with neighbouring municipalities to not confuse cyclists and motorists with varying signage.
The financial implications of widening roads to accommodate dedicated bike lanes, improved shoulders, and road painting were not yet available as consultations are still in progress.
Councillor Lachlan McDonald explained that “more bikes would likely lead to more accidents, just by volume,” and that coexistence between cars and bikes can happen, although when this does not work, the results end up favouring the bigger vehicle.
“We need to encourage safer routes and for cyclists to take extra time on their route,” McDonald concluded.
Discussions will be held within the various municipalities to determine future steps and be brought back to SDG Council for further consideration.
