Saskatoon Cycles October 2019 Newsletter
Join the Board of Saskatoon Cycles
As a non-profit organization, we rely on the generous efforts of our volunteers. One of the ways you can contribute to and help shape the direction of our work is by becoming a member of our Board of Directors. Elections for a number of Board seats will take place at our Annual General Meeting on November 14th. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a Board member, contact our Co-Chair, Cathy Watts (Phone: 306.664.3908 / Email: media@saskatooncycles.org).
In the lead up to this year’s AGM, we are profiling a number of our current Board members. In these short posts, they share why they are involved with Saskatoon Cycles and what they find most rewarding about being on our Board.
Note: At our AGM, members will be asked to vote on whether to reduce the size of our Board of Directors, from a maximum of 12 members to a maximum of nine. The proposed change will bring us in line with governance best practices, and ensure our Board is nimble and effective.
Attend our Annual General Meeting
Our 2019 AGM will take place Thursday, November 14 at the Grad Student Commons (corner of College and Wiggins, on the U of S campus.) Come meet other people who love riding their bikes. Learn about opportunities to help support our work. See the premiere of our new video Life on a Bike, which features vignettes of three Saskatonians who cycle year round. Join us for supper at 6:30 ($12), which will also feature a cash bar with craft beer from 9 Mile Legacy and wine. The formal meeting will begin at about 7:15 pm.
Saskatoon Cycles needs you
If you want to put your interest and passion for cycling into action, we’d love to hear from you. There are countless opportunities — big and small — to support the work of Saskatoon Cycles.
Our biggest volunteer commitment is the Bike Valet. This past summer more than 70 people contributed nearly 700 hours keeping bikes safe for people who rode to festivals.
But there are many other ways to get involved. You could lead a Slow Roll. Help us with fundraising. Be part of our Bike Sale and Expo. Get involved in Bike to Work Day. Take training, then teach others how to ride. The possibilities are limited only by the number of dedicated folks who want to make cycling better in our city.
To find out how you can get involved, attend our AGM on November 14th (see above) or contact our Board Co-Chair Cathy Watts (Phone: 306.664.3908 / Email: media@saskatooncycles.org).
Don’t rant. Record. (BikeMaps.org)
Have you had a crash or near-miss on your bike? A run-in with a driver? Have you fallen due to a hazard or poor infrastructure? Has your bike been stolen?
Add your experiences to BikeMaps.org, a crowdsource tool for global mapping of cycling safety. Together, we can help develop a clearer picture of cycling trouble spots in Saskatoon. The data you contribute can lead to a safer riding experience for all cyclists.
Update on new cycling bylaws
A draft of Saskatoon’s new cycling bylaws will be presented to the city’s Transportation Committee later this month. If approved there, the bylaws will be forwarded to City Council for review and approval. At the meeting where the bylaws come before Council, you will have an opportunity to speak (5 minutes max) in support of the updated bylaws or voice your concerns, before Council votes on them. The updated draft bylaws incorporate many of the suggestions Saskatoon Cycles put forward in a formal submission to the City.
For those following changes to the City of Saskatoon cycling bylaws, we expect a report on the draft bylaw will be provided by Administration to the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation on November 4, 2019 and at City Council on November 18, 2019. Saskatoon Cycles has provided feedback to the City on the proposed changes. Click here to view the agenda for Council meetings, which are posted on the preceding Wednesday.
Update on Saskatoon bicycle network
One of the action items in Saskatoon’s Active Transportation Plan is to “develop a complete and connected bicycle network for all ages and abilities.” In this work, the City is focusing its efforts on improving infrastructure in five street corridors identified as priority routes by the Active Transportation Advisory Group and because of the opportunity to coordinate construction with other infrastructure work:
- 3rd Avenue North: From 25th Street East to 2nd Avenue North
- 29th Street West (or 31st Street West): From Idylwyld Drive to Circle Drive
- 3) 14th Street East: From Cumberland Avenue South to Saskatchewan Crescent East
- 4) Dudley Street: From Spadina Crescent West to Dawes Avenue
- 5) Victoria Avenue: From 8th Street to Taylor Street
The City hopes to begin improvements to these corridors in 2020 and complete work by 2022. Administration plans to host four or five public engagement opportunities next year, as well as workshops with the Active Transportation Advisory Group.
Bike Sale and Expo
The 2020 edition of our Bike Sale and Expo will take place May 8th and 9th. Are there bikes in your garage that are no longer being used? Do you have children who will need a larger bicycle next year? We will be accepting donations of used bikes in reasonable condition. And there will be an opportunity for you to sell bikes on commission. We will also be accepting for sale used bike accessories, such as racks and trailers.
The Bike Expo will feature a wide variety of cycling-related information and products. If you know of a group that would like to be part of this event please send an email note to info@sasktooncycles.org or call Cathy Watts at 306 664-3908.
This event is another opportunity to get involved; we will need several volunteers to help out running the Sale and Expo.
Increasing Cycle in Canada: A Guide to What Works (Source: Centre for Active Transportation)
A new report by The Centre for Active Transportation sets out 10 actions that communities can take locally to grow cycling as a viable transportation option. The document, entitled Increasing Cycling in Canada: a Guide to What Works, was produced in collaboration with researchers from the University of Toronto, McGill University, and Simon Fraser University. The authors drew on five years of research to develop the list. They identified places in Canada where cycling has increased significantly and then analyzed data sets and conducted interviews to determine why. Read the report
A Republican Suburb Designed for Cyclists (Source: reasons to be cheerful)
The terms “Republican,” “pro-cycling,” and “suburb” don’t traditionally go hand in hand. But the (Republican) (pro-cycling) mayor of (suburban) Carmel, Indiana, James Brainard, finds that notion laughable. Why? It’s simple: cycling makes economic sense, he says, if you design for it as comprehensively as you design for cars. His town is living proof. Read the full article.
Effectiveness of a bicycle skills training intervention on increasing bicycling and confidence (Source: Journal of Transport and Health)
Bicycle courses aim to address individual-level barriers to bicycling, such as skills, knowledge, and confidence, but such courses may not be enough to overcome other barriers. Bicycle courses should be combined with environmental and other means of support to achieve greater impact on bicycling. (Read the research paper)
