Be visible and predictable: Safety measures are key when cycling on Thunder Bay roads

With interest in cycling on the rise and more people taking their bikes out on Thunder Bay roadways, experts are urging cyclists to take some precautions to stay safe.

"Since we're post-COVID, there are actually more people commuting by bike with the return to work," said Ashley Priem, co-executive director of EcoSuperior, which offers cycling education courses in the northwestern Ontario city. "The cycling rates have definitely gone up."

Darrik Smith, the city's mobility co-ordinator, is regularly out on his bike and sees plenty of examples of people not taking steps to stay safe.

"I've seen all kinds of stuff," Smith said. "I see lots of people with no helmets on. I see lots of people with no protective equipment on whatsoever, no reflective gear, wearing dark clothing, biking at dusk.

"It's a big risk," he said. "One of the other things that I see, too, is parents riding with their kids with no helmets. And as a parent myself, one of the things that I try the hardest to do is to model the behaviour that I want to see."

Both Priem and Smith offered a few tips for cyclists heading out on the road.

First, wear a helmet.

"You can get a new heart, you can get new lungs, you can get a new liver," Smith said. "You only get one brain. You get one shot with that brain, and that's who you are as a person."

Cyclists should also make sure they're visible to others, he said.

"Whether that be having reflective stickers on your helmet and on your bicycle, wearing a surveyor's vest that's luminescent with the flashings on it," Smith said. 

Priem said being predictable is also a way to increase safety on the road.

"As a cyclist, it's important that you're trying to bike in a straight line, and that you give good hand signals before you try changing direction or lanes."

Cyclists must also stop at red lights and stop signs, and use bike lanes when they're available.

Considered a vehicle

"It is important that according to the Ontario Highway Traffic, a bicycle is considered a vehicle that belongs on the road," Priem said. "That means you're riding along with other traffic.

"So everybody on the road, cyclists and drivers, need to be following the same rules of the road. You can take room, so not riding too close to the curb is important."

Priem said motorists have a part to play in keeping the roads safe for cyclists as well.

"The bicycle is a vehicle, it belongs on the road, it has rights on the road. Just like you would respect a driver in another car, and would try to avoid another car, that same attitude needs to apply to cyclists on the road as well.

"It's not an us-or-them kind of attitude; everybody needs to share the road for the safety of everybody."

Courses available

For people who are starting out or want to learn more about bicycle safety, Priem said EcoSuperior is once again offering a full slate of courses.

"Obviously COVID did have an impact on our courses," Priem said. "We tried to adapt and go virtual as much as possible.

"We adapted the bike camp or the school bike programs, and we had them go to an online format," she said. "We even had a virtual tour series through Safe Cycling, and then we had adult cycling courses that were adapted to a weekly webinar series.

"Although we did have uptake on that, obviously the numbers were definitely lower than if COVID wasn't at play."

Now, however, everything is back up and running in person, Priem said.

"We get great uptake for our school bike courses," she said. "We have a brand new Safe Cycling Thunder Bay website, which also lists all the course options for the public."

EcoSuperior also has copies of Ontario's guide for safe cycling available and can run courses for smaller groups, such as families.

"I would definitely encourage people to try and cycle, and travel, actively because there are so many benefits," Priem said. "You always have to keep in mind that drivers have a responsibility to be safe, and cyclists have a responsibility to be safe as well."

LISTEN | Darrik Smith, Thunder Bay's mobility co-ordinator, talks to Superior Morning about cycling safety: