John Liedtke
902 Victoria Avenue
N9A 4N4
Email: john@johnl.ca
Website: http://www.johnl.ca
1) What are your views on cycling in Windsor?
I like bicycles. I ride regularly.
2) Do you own a bike? How often do you ride it?
Yes I own 3. I try to ride at least 2 – 3 times per week weather permitting.
3) Recent research shows that 65% of Windsorites have ridden a bike in the last year. What do you think can be done to get more windsorites cycling more often?
Raise the price of gas to $2/ltr. We need more bike lanes. Montreal does it well. Tough enforcement on bad cyclists. I have had 3 bikes stolen, 2 from my house, one from Walkerville High. All were locked. Bolt cutters make it simple. Bike theft is a huge problem. One $400 bike is worth a hit of crack.
4) What do you think needs to be done to make Windsor more bicycle friendly?
Additional bike lanes, keep repairing the roads. Keep trucks off most city streets except for local delivery. A friend of mine just got squeezed off the road by one of the Chrysler haulers and went head over heals, almost whacked his noggin on a street pole. Lucky he missed. The truck didn’t even know what happened but was stopped by a concerned motorist. The driver was shaken up. My friend now wears a helmet.
5) What are your views on enforcing cycling laws in Windsor? We need to enforce the law.
Traffic enforcement is stretched and resources are thin. I have always found the WPS to be obliging. If they have the support of council and funding we can always work something out. I was almost hit from behind on Ouellette at Pitt by a biker coming up from behind on the sidewalk. If I had turned to the right I would have been hit. Bikes should not be on sidewalks or riding against traffic on one way streets. I was taught that bikes must follow the same rules as cars. Perhaps we should think about mandatory courses. Ebikes are just plain scary. They sneak up on you. Cool little things and I might buy one. Need to be regulated though.
6) Are you willing to make a commitment to bike to at least 4 city council meetings per year, to lead by example?
Absolutely. Actually I was thinking more about walking to City Hall. I live on Victoria, downtown, but I will bike on nice nights.
