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3| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,S eptem ber 13,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca WATERLOO - Volun- teers put their bodies on the line during rush hour Thursday afternoon in up- town Waterloo to raise awareness about a lack of protected cycling infra- structure in this region. About 50 people of all ages lined up along the new bike lanes on the west side of King Street North, from Princess Street to Du- pont Street, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to highlight the importance of using phys- ical barriers to separate cyclists and motorists on the roadway. "The region seems to be directing a lot of attention and resources toward cy- cling, which is great, but it seems like the final prod- uct falls quite short of what is a real, safe net- work," said Scott Weldon, a cyclist commuter for the past ten years whose daughter was almost struck when a pickup truck pulled onto the bike lane this past July near the Huether Hotel. The protest, organized by Weldon and fellow cy- clist Jeff Fedor, was in- spired by a similar event in Boston last year, and the concept of using a human barrier - referred to as a "people-protected bike lane" - has emerged in cit- ies around the world in re- cent years to demonstrate the importance of physi- cally separating cyclists from traffic. Weldon and Fedor start- ing recruiting volunteers in early August through their Twitter account, @PeopleWr, and didn't want motorists to think they were planning to block entire lanes of traffic to make their point. "We want this to be a positive, peaceful process," Weldon said. Volunteers were asked to sign a waiver before standing on the bike lane Thursday, but no inci- dents occurred and only a few passing vehicles honked at the volunteers. The protest occurred along the same span of cy- cling lanes that opened earlier this summer in the city core. Stretching from the uptown square to Bridgeport Road, the lanes are visually distinct from the road but the infra- structure does not physi- cally divide motorists, cy- clists and pedestrians, al- though the cycling lanes on the east side of the road are separated from traffic by a row of parked cars. Yet vehicles are rou- tinely spotted parked in the bike lane, and cyclists and pedestrians have tak- en to social media over the past few months to vent their frustration, often us- ing the hashtag #CycleWR. Other issues, such as local businesses and residents stacking their garbage in the bike lane for pickup, are also cause for concern. According to a bi-annu- al active transportation re- port released by the City of Waterloo in 2017, over the previous three years, "Wa- terloo has had an average of 24.6 collisions per year for pedestrians and 8.6 per year for cyclists, however little data exists on how frequent near-misses are." Earlier this year, the City of Waterloo was also awarded the gold level Bi- cycle-Friendly Communi- ty designation from the Share the Road Cycling Co- alition at their annual summit in Toronto (one of three gold-rated cities in the province). The City of Kitchener has a silver des- ignation, while Cambridge has a bronze rating. The same week the lanes opened in July, Eric Saunderson, senior pro- ject manager for the Re- gion of Waterloo, told the Record there would be a "learning curve." City by- law officers also stepped up enforcement in the area for the first few weeks they were open. While some cycling ad- vocates have said the lanes are a good first start, they also argue physically sepa- rated bike lanes would be an improvement. Weldon said he was giv- en three reasons for why this section of bike lane wasn't physically separat- ed from traffic: for winter maintenance, for visual appeal, and because barri- ers such as planters or bol- lards would create obsta- cles cyclists would need to avoid. "I think that's insulting, because they're allowing cars to easily pull on, which could kill us, but they don't think we can avoid a stationary object," said Weldon. The city allowed motor- ists to park in the bike lanes during the winter months as they were not yet open to cyclists, which was a mistake Weldon said, since it helped drivers form bad habits. Fedor said they plan to hold similar protests in the future, drawing attention to other unprotected bike lanes and dangerous pe- destrian crossings. "The ultimate goal for the region should be a min- imum bike grid so riders of any ability, age and confi- dence level can travel safe- ly and efficiently through the region," he said. TAKING TO THE STREETS FOR CYCLIST SAFETY While riding with his daughter Catherine front, Scott Weldon high fives members of the 'people-protected bike lane' divide on King Street near uptown Waterloo, between Princess and Erb Streets.Thursday. Over 50 concerned cyclists showed their support for a separation of cyclists from traffic after a young girl was nearly hit by a truck while using them. David Bebee,Waterloo Region Record JAMES JACKSON jjackson@therecord.com LOCAL HUMAN BARRIER IN WATERLOO BIKE LANE AIMED AT RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF SEPARATED CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE