Bike Friendly Windsor Essex

Calgary Looking for a Cycling Coordinator

Kari Gignac — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:44:12 +0000

I know this isn’t about Windsor directly, but indirectly, it applies to us here. You see, one of the things we’re lacking, and this is part of the reason the city only received a bronze designation from the Bicycle Friendly Communities program, is a dedicated cycling coordinator.

Don’t get me wrong, there are dedicated staff that deal with cycling issues in Windsor on a daily basis. However, the manager of the transportation department has told me personally that if the city were to hire a cycling coordinator, they would have plenty of work to give them.

So, one of my requests of council during this ever-enlightening time of budget deliberations is the hiring of a cycling coordinator. Chicago has Ben Gomberg, Portland has Roger Geller, Hamilton has Daryl Bender, and heck, even Calgary is hiring one.

If Windsor were to hire a cycling coordinator, imagine what they’d be able to accomplish! They could perform collision analysis, update and report on the city’s Bicycling Use Master Plan, organize a Bike Share program along the riverfront, promote the city’s Bicycle Friendly Workplace Awards, finally update and maintain the cyclewindsor.ca website, act as a liaison between other cities, Windsor’s BIAs, cycling groups, councillors and the Windsor Bicycling Committee, as well as perform regular evaluations on our current cycling facilities and programs.

All of these duties are currently being performed by various staff, within a corporation that, in my experience, could use some work on communicating. A cycling coordinator could effectively wrangle our efforts to become an even more bicycle-friendly community.

Kingsville Active Transportation Public Workshop – February 23

Steve — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:17:20 +0000

To support the County-Wide Active Transportation Master Plan, the Town of Kingsville has commissioned a Town-wide Active Transportation study, and will be hosting a Public Workshop on February 23rd, from 7-9pm at the Kingsville Lakeside Pavillion. The workshop will allow participants the chance to provide input and recommendations for the active transportation network, including routes, destinations and facilities. If you have ideas regarding the network in Kingsville, Ruthven or Cottam, please bring them forward so they can be implemented into the Town’s Master Plan. We also encourage you to share the details of this workshop with anyone you know who may be interested in attending.

If you are unable to attend, there will be an online survey on the Town website which will allow written input.

Cinema Politca Windsor Film Screening

Steve — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:59:20 +0000

I just got back from Cinema Politica Windsor‘s screening of You Never Bike Alone. It was an inspiring film, reminding me of how much we have left to do to make Windsor a Bicycle friendly city.

There was a group discussion after the film, which I found quite interesting, and which raised several topics which I will touch on here.

The film followed the life of Critical Mass in Vancouver from the 90s onwards. For a background on Critical Mass, click here. There were comments afterwards regarding violence towards Massers, which has apparently happened in the past when Windsor had a Critical Mass ride. Windsor’s first CM was approximately a dozen years ago, and was tied to the Citizens Environment Alliance “SmogFest”, and had approximately 75 participants. Since then, CM has been revived a few times, the most recently about 6 months ago, but each time it failed reach “Critical Mass”, and fizzled out.

In the discussion that followed, there was also mention of Windsor’s Bicycle Use Master Plan (B.U.M.P.) and the Essex County Wide Active Transportation Study (CWATS), as well as the Riverside Drive Vista Improvement Project (RD-VIP) – which should see some construction starting in March, as stage 1 phase 1 is currently open for bids for tender.

For those who didn’t get their fix of cycle films, check out a the short videos on Momentum Magazine’s website – and remember that Bike Friendly Windsor members get a discount on Momentum subscriptions!

You Never Bike Alone – Film Screening February 2nd

Steve — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:24 +0000

Cinema Politica, a non-profit media arts organization, will be hosting a film screening this Thursday February 2nd at the Odette Building at the University of Windsor (room 108).

The film, You Never Bike Alone follows the course of Critical Mass rides in Vancouver from the early 90s to the present. Vancouver’s Critical Mass rides have become renowned for their size and party spirit that attracts cyclists of all stripes.

Courtesy Bicycles to offer bicycle maintenance courses

Steve — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:06:20 +0000

Courtesy Bicycles has annouced that they are launching bicycle maintenance courses. They will offer two types of classes – a basic course and a travel/race day course. The basic class includes topics such as changing a flat tire, and how to adjust brakes and derailleurs, as well as a question and answer period for specific issues. The travel/race day class is aimed at those who have basic skills, but want a better understanding of how to disassemble/reassmble for travel and race day. It includes instruction on how to take a bike apart and put it in a bike-box, and how to set it up again.

Each class is 2 hours long, with basic classes costing $30 per person, and travel/race classes costing $50 per person. It is recommended that you bring your bike with you to the classes. Students will receive a 20% discount on tools on the night of the class. Tentative dates are February 1,7,10,16,20, and 29.

For more information, call John Saul at Courtesy Bicycles (519-252-0080) or email j_saul2000@yahoo.ca