A boom in bikes

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(Photo by Jody Waardenburg)
(Photo by Jody Waardenburg)

Waterloo is gaining a bike-friendly reputation.

Andy Cox, co-owner of King Street Cycles in Uptown Waterloo has been a firsthand witness to the growth of the cycling community in Waterloo.

He describes it as fairly large and growing,

โ€œTo give you an example, thereโ€™s a local cycling club and it has I believe five hundred members this year,โ€ he said.

โ€œAnd thatโ€™s just people that have paid to be in a club.โ€

King Street Cycles has been opened in Waterloo for a decade and in the last three-to-four years they have seen exponential growth.

Cox also believes that cycling is a practical substitute for traditional methods of transportation.

โ€œItโ€™s safe to say weโ€™ve seen a real growth in the commuter and the cyclist that is riding not so much as an enthusiast but an everyday practical solution to getting around,โ€ he said.

Cox continued to say that Waterloo is โ€œseeing older folks get into bikes, were seeing more young folks get into commuter bikes more so than say mountain bikes or road bikes.โ€

With the increase in cycling enthusiasts, the city has also had to consider how to make streets safe for shared use by bikers and drivers.
โ€œWhen we design our roads or reconstruct old roads we try to make them bike friendly by making them what we call โ€˜complete streetsโ€™, said Waterloo city councillor Mark Whaley.

This means the city builds and reconstructs streets to have bike lanes, sidewalks and roads.

โ€œOur car culture really needs to be more balanced with other modes of transportation,โ€ Whaley continued.

Despite the success of such projects there has been opposition. According to Whaley, there are some who believe streets are for cars only and shouldnโ€™t accommodate cyclists.

โ€œThis is the group that we really want to target in terms of education,โ€ Whaley said.

This past May, Waterloo was awarded a silver ranking in an evaluation of bike-friendly cities in Canada.

The Bicycle Friendly Community Award was given to Waterloo in light of its infrastructure and education that facilitates and promotes a cycling community.

The award was handed down from the Canadian group Share the Road Cycling Coalition in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists.

The biking community will also get a boost once the Grand River Bike Share Program launches in the Region this upcoming spring.

โ€œI think there are some real logistical challenges, but hopefully those can be overcome,โ€ Cox added.

โ€œI look at programs like the Bixi bikes in Montreal and in Toronto to some degree,โ€ he continued. โ€œBut in Montreal especially, where you can go get a bike, ride it to another place, leave it there; it works great in Montreal. Iโ€™ve used it personally myself a lot and I love it.โ€

Cox encourages those still unconvinced to ride in the sub-zero temperatures to not โ€œbe afraid to ride in the winter.โ€

He believes that outdoor exposure in winterย  better prepares Canadians for the harsh winter weather.

โ€œI think the main thing Iโ€™ve found with riding in the winter is that it gives you a whole new outlook on the weather,โ€ he said. โ€œItโ€™s a lot easier to take the winter if youโ€™re out there experiencing it.โ€


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