Cyclists on the sidewalk can – and should – expect to be ticketed if caught by Thunder Bay police.
Sgt. Glenn Porter of the department’s traffic control unit on Monday said cyclists have alternatives and don’t have to resort to using pedestrian walkways to move about the city.
Bicycles, under provincial and municipal law, are vehicles, and are subject to the same rules of the road, Porter added, responding to a publicized complaint from Linda Guerard, who said her son was snagged in a bicycle trap on Memorial Avenue by an unmarked police cruiser.
As a result her son was handed fines totaling $255, one for riding on the sidewalk and one for not having a reflector.
Porter bristled at the term bicycle trap.
“It’s not unusual for a driver to be given a citation for any violation that is taking place,” Porter said, explaining why cyclists are just as likely to be ticketed as someone driving a car or truck on city streets.
“It shouldn’t really raise any questions at all.”
Fear of traffic whizzing by is not an excuse to abandon the road, where cyclists are legislated to be, for the sidewalk, Porter added.
“There are always choices,” he said. “If you don’t feel safe on a given street, because of the volumes or the speeds, then you have a choice of selecting a safer route and making sure you do have that comfort level.
“Making an illegal choice and giving that as an excuse just doesn’t work anymore.”
Earlier this year, after a couple of high-profile collisions involving cyclists coming off sidewalks into intersections, police said they were monitoring the situation, but seeking out illegal cyclists wasn’t necessarily a high-profile item.
At the time police said they would be ticketing any cyclist found to be at fault in future collisions. With the introduction of bike lanes, police wanted to ensure both drivers and cyclists became acclimated to sharing spaces in new ways.
But that grace period appears to have come to an end.
“Everybody in town knows the cycling lanes are here. Drivers are becoming aware of them. It’s progressing, so as it progresses, the next step is enforcement. That’s something that you’re starting to see.”
Adam Krupper agrees wholeheartedly.
Still, the city’s active transportation co-ordinator says more education is needed, especially on the busy bike lane-less May Street/Memorial Avenue/Algoma Street corridor, where Guerard’s son was ticketed.
“Historically there’s been some confusion about May, Memorial and Algoma,” Krupper said of a street that sees 45,000 on it every day, driving at posted speed limits of 60 kilometres an hour and beyond.
“There’s a rumour that floats around that in the ‘80s city council made it allowable for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk there.
“That fallacy kind of floats around and unfortunately a lot of people believe in it and ride on the sidewalk … Cycling on the sidewalks is very dangerous.”
According to figures supplied by Krupper, in 2011 100 per cent of cycling collisions on the north-south thoroughfare occurred by cyclists riding on the sidewalk.
“Not one happened on the road. So it’s a danger to cyclists, it’s a danger to pedestrians and it’s a danger to drivers,” Krupper said.
He said most fears of driving on Memorial Avenue stem from bicyclists worrying about being struck from behind, but it’s a rare occurrence.
“It’s a myth we’re hoping to dispel. But there’s definitely an intimidation factor,” he said.
Like Porter, Krupper said choosing a quieter route is a better option than riding on the sidewalk.
“Another thing to do is to get educated in cycling skills.”
Krupper said there are no immediate plans to install bike lanes on Memorial Avenue, noting that on busy streets bike lanes are being added when they are rehabilitated.
