My reaction to “Stream of kids on bikes promote cycling safety in Oak Bay” (Oak Bay News, May 17, 2017)
I was pleased to see Mayor Nils Jensen participating in the “bike train” during last week’s Bike to School Week. I was even happier to hear Mr. Jenssen speak out and encourage bike safety on Oak Bay roads so that our children can travel safely to their schools.
Yet I wondered one thing: how can Mr. Jensen believe it’s safe for children to cycle to school when not one school in Oak Bay has a single bike lane near it? Come to think of it, the only bike lane that I know of in our entire municipality (that Saanich didn’t pay for) is the teensy stretch that siphons cyclists out into traffic on Cadboro Bay Road at Bowker Avenue, which is soon to be a bustling development with greater traffic flow.
I challenge the mayor and his council to act: create bike lanes, starting with the busy roads around our schools. Saanich just built separated bike lanes to improve safety for students accessing Lansdowne Middle School and Camosun College. Let’s do the same around Oak Bay High, Willows elementary and Monterey Middle School. If Mayor Lisa Helps can do it, so can you, Mr. Jensen.
Patty Freeman
Oak Bay