Correspondence: Email from R. Steer, Re: Streets Bylaw No. 980, 2019

Correspondence Regarding Streets Bylaw No. 980

Dear Mayor and Councillors,

Regarding the 2019.11.21 Special Council Meeting agenda item 10.d) Streets Bylaw No. 980, 2019:

Please OPPOSE the adoption of Streets Bylaw No. 980 and recommend this bylaw be amended to allow operation of a cycle, roller skate, scooter, coaster, skateboard or other coasting device or thing of a similar nature on a sidewalk with due care and attention and with reasonable consideration for other persons using the sidewalk.

The bylaw proposed for adoption includes this change regarding cycling on sidewalks:

Proposed by "Streets Bylaw No. 980":

"6.4 A person must not ride, drive, or propel any vehicle, Cycle, or animal upon any Sidewalk unless otherwise permitted by a Traffic Control Device or this Bylaw."

Current "Streets and Traffic Regulation Bylaw No. 609, 2005" states:

"(6) A person must not operate a cycle (b) on a sidewalk without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the sidewalk"

I believe that cycling on a sidewalk with due care and attention and with reasonable consideration for other persons using the sidewalk should remain a legal activity in View Royal. If it does not remain legal then most children will not be able to safely ride their bike to/from school or to/from many other places in the municipality unless they choose to (or are directed by their parents) to break a law by riding on the sidewalk.

The level of risk to cyclist safety presented by the cycling infrastructure provided on the roads in View Royal is unacceptable for some segments of the cycling population. A cycling lane separated from a vehicle lane by a single painted line does not adequately mitigate risk for some segments of the cycling population, in particular children.

I attended the Oct. 7th open house held for review of the draft bylaw. I could not find any information displayed there that described what informed the decision to disallow cycling in a safe manner on sidewalks. When I asked an attending staff member what informed the decision to make this change I was told it was changed because that is what most other local governments in BC are doing. I would expect information that should and would inform this change might be in the form of documented historic accounts of complaints of cycling on sidewalks in View Royal in a manner that was without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration of another person using the sidewalk. I would expect information that would inform this change might be in the form of documented historic accounts of occurrences of collisions, injuries or other problem incidents that occurred involving cycling on a sidewalk in View Royal. If acceptable logic of what can inform this change to our municipality's bylaw is that other (be they similar or not) jurisdictions "are doing it" then I submit that Maple Ridge allows cycling on their sidewalks.

How about continuing to allow cycling on View Royal's sidewalks in a safe and considerate manner and if, in the future, evidence indicates it is causing problems then consider changing the bylaw?

Thank you.

Ron Steer (View Royal resident)