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Saskatoon Cycles September 2024 Newsletter

Bike Valet: What a year!

The 2024 Bike Valet season has come to an end, and the numbers are in:

  • 12 venues
  • 25 days
  • 436 volunteer hours
  • 3639 bikes parked

These parked bikes represent a lot of inexpensive, hassle-free, low-carbon, active trips made by festival-goers who wanted an alternative to driving a vehicle. They also illustrate the amazing community spirit of dozens of people who donate their time and energy in order to make this program a reality.

We are grateful to all of the organizations and events that signed up for the Bike Valet service again this year. Without these community leaders making the choice to provide this amenity to their patrons, the Bike Valet would cease to exist:

If you’ve been a patron of the Bike Valet and appreciate the service, please contact event organizers and thank them for including the valet. We can provide the hard numbers, but personal anecdotes go a long way toward reinforcing the need for bike security and accessibility at popular venues, year after year.

A HUGE thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who stepped up to make the Bike Valet run so smoothly this year. Some worked their first shifts, some took on multiple shifts, and most persevered in some tricky weather to ensure professional, consistent service. Every hour of our volunteers’ generosity is appreciated. (There will be a Volunteer Appreciation Night later this year, so stay tuned for details. Until then, thank you all!)

If you worked a shift (or more) this year, you probably spent some time with the Valet Supervisor, Ben. We extend a really big thank you to him for his steady hand and giant personality in keeping the operations on track.

A final thank you goes out to the City of Saskatoon for their Environmental Grant, which helps support the Bike Valet. With this grant, we are able to keep the valet equipment in good shape, and occasionally subsidize the valet costs to those community groups and events with limited resources.

We’re looking forward to another big year in 2025. Hopefully, we’ll see you back at the valet!

Nuit Blanche 2024

Over 60 people answered the call to be “part of the art” at Nuit Blanche 2024 and lit up the September Saturday night with a dazzling moving light show. We’ll have a video up soon to showcase the dozens of people who joined our three hour tour.

Nuit Blanche organizers did an incredible planning job with the city to ensure open streets for safe walking and cycling throughout the downtown, River Landing, Victoria, and Broadway areas. Mild temperatures and only a light breeze made things even more comfortable for patrons, giving the performers and artists the chance to truly shine.

Thanks to board members Jory, Jim, and Rob for marshaling the procession smoothly and efficiently.

Make sure you have your lighting bling ready for next year, Saskatoon!

4th Annual Cathy Watts Memorial Slow Roll

On Sunday, September 8, 2024 we celebrated the 4th Annual Cathy Watts Memorial Slow Roll to honour our past board co-chair and local “happy agitator” for cycling advocacy.

Husband Trent Watts gave the group an update on the Cathy Watts Memorial Scholarship that was set up to provide an annual support to a U of S student studying in the area of active transportation. The fund continues to be self-sustaining, and should carry on Cathy’s legacy in perpetuity.

At Boffins Public Gardens, one of Cathy’s favoured meditative spots, people shared memories of her and spoke to how she affected their lives. A consistent theme was how inspiring (and persuasive) Cathy could be when developing new projects, but also how her own work ethic always surpassed that of those she recruited.

It’s clear that Cathy’s passion and energy continue to lift people up, and as one friend put it, “I just hope that another 100 years from now we’re still lifting up Cathy.”

Darin Kinniewess Memorial

On September 6, 2024 members of the community gathered to remember Darin Kinniewess on the one year anniversary of his death. Darin had been riding his bike at the intersection of Avenue P South and 19th Street West when he was struck by a motorist and later died in hospital.

The memorial walk/ride was organized by Tyrone McKenzie of the Salvation Army and included the sharing of stories and memories of Darin by his family and friends, and a song. While primarily an occasion to honour Darin, those present also hoped that ongoing awareness of cycling safety might prevent future tragedies from occurring.

A new ghost bike will be installed in the days to come to ensure that the community does not forget, and that the family has a place to always pay their respects.

LiveableYXE 2024

The official nomination period for Saskatoon’s upcoming civic election is underway and will run until October 9, 2024. At that time, the city will know all of the candidates and campaigning will be well underway.

LiveableYXE is a coalition of various Saskatoon groups interested in issues that relate to the community’s quality of life. It has been tracking all declared candidates since the beginning of September, and has sent them a list of questions on issues ranging from climate change to homelessness. The candidates’ responses and websites are posted in real-time on the LiveableYXE website and organized by ward for voters to consider.

(Note: LiveableYXE is non-partisan and does NOT endorse any specific respondent. The question survey and responses are strictly to help inform electors of their candidates’ positions.)

We strongly urge our members to visit LiveableYXE regularly and explore the responses as they come in. Volunteer to help deliver LiveableYXE materials. Get a LiveableYXE window sign. Ask potential candidates questions on your own, and if you have the time, money, or energy, support the ones you like.

Advocacy for better cycling safety, infrastructure, and education (and the general quality of life in Saskatoon) will have an excellent head start if we elect representatives who understand what makes a city great. Our municipal government is ground zero for this kind of work, so please, roll up your sleeves and get involved. Every vote counts!

College Drive and Wiggins Avenue Upgrade

The upgrades to the intersection at College Drive and Wiggins Avenue have been completed; a “bike box”, cycling lane, and a “no right turn on red” sign have been deployed.

We’re pleased to see progress on this very busy intersection. The changes were proposed in the aftermath of Natasha Fox’s death in May of 2023, and the implementation came about only after a great deal of public demand and action by a motivated and responsive city council.

The City of Saskatoon administration has expressed concern that these changes will not increase safety, but we feel that ANY increased visibility and adjustments to the intersection will have a positive effect. We feel that as the concept of a “bike box” becomes more familiar to both cyclists and motorists, dangerous interactions will decrease.

The video below offers a general explanation as to how a “bike box” is supposed to function and why. (Please note: this was produced by the City of Kingston and some local bylaws may differ from Saskatoon.)

We look forward to continuing our advocacy with a new council and existing administration to expand and improve the cycling network in Saskatoon. Improvements like these to intersections, more bikeways, and new corridor infrastructure all point to a better experience for vulnerable road users.

Ride for Refuge 2024

Global Gathering Place Saskatoon met and then surpassed their fundraising goal (136%) during the 2024 Ride for Refuge!

Thanks to generous donors like you, the small but mighty Saskatoon Cycles team contributed $825 to the total, which, at the time of publication, was enough to give us 11th spot!

We very much appreciate our members’ commitment to supporting good causes that help newcomers to our city.

Come to think of it, we appreciate ALL donations that come our way…

Donate

Your donations give us the resources to press toward a Saskatoon where cycling is a viable, year-round mode of transportation that is safe, convenient, and comfortable for all ages.

We want families to be able to simply hop on their bikes to go grab an ice cream and enjoy the beauty of Saskatoon. For you or your partner to pick up groceries or a library book. And we really want you to be able to commute to work and back safely and conveniently.

Your donation helps us work on these three ‘pillars’ of cycling development for Saskatoon:

  • Infrastructure – A safe, convenient, comfortable, and well-maintained cycling network throughout the city that allows cyclists to go from every neighbourhood to key destinations.
  • Ridership – Educate, encourage, and promote cycling so more people choose bicycles as a convenient and safe transportation option year round.
  • Culture – Educate, encourage, and promote diversity in ridership with respectful inclusion of all modes of transportation.

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