Residents on Argyle Avenue raise signs to encourage cyclists to walk along the sidewalk.
Residents on Argyle Avenue have lost patience with cyclists who are using the sidewalk as if it were a bike path. With support from the Ottawa Police Service, the people in the area have created an awareness campaign in an attempt to fix the problem with the careless cyclists.
Earlier this year, after many close calls, irritation with cyclists riding on the sidewalk reached a critical level on the street. A custodian was struck by a bike on the sidewalk, says Bill Brown, spokesperson of the “Please walk your bike” campaign.
The accident encouraged a group of residents on the narrow one-way street to take action against cycling on the sidewalk.
The residents have placed signs asking cyclists to “please walk your bike” every three metres between Metcalfe and O’Connor streets. Children’s drawings hang from the trees reminding cyclists that children use the sidewalk.
Before the campaign, the residents counted between 10 to 12 cyclists an hour on the sidewalk during afternoon peak hours.
“It’s unbelievable how fast they go,” Brown, a resident of the Windsor Arms apartments for 30 years, says.
“It’s everyone. Soccer moms, 60-year-old men, teenage girls.”
“Everyone has the right to complain about cyclists. It’s crazy, every day I see some cyclist breaking the rules,” says Isaac Adamski.
He has been cycling for 15 years and used to work in a bike shop where he taught youngsters how to ride safely.
“I can’t preach it if I don’t practice it. Everyone is in such a rush today. If you haven’t got 60 seconds to walk your bike, something’s wrong,” Adamski says.
The vice-president for Citizens for Safe Cycling, Alex deVries, says the city must provide better alternatives for cyclists. That means more segregated bike paths, bike lanes and contra-flow bike lanes, a solution that’s particularly well suited for Argyle Avenue, a one-way street.
One week ago the police began showing up to hand out fines to cyclists who ignored the signs and the traffic law.