St. Catharines to become more bicycle friendly

If riding your bike to work sounds like a foreign concept, chances are you're a native of St. Niagara. A recent survey found that only 1.5% of us use pedal power for our daily commute -- one of the lowest rates in the country. But what's stopping us? Is it St.Catharines' slothful nature? After all, we do have the highest obesity rate in Canada - 57.3% of us were overweight according to a Statistics Canada survey. Could it be something else?

City Hall seems to think so. While it's up to us to make the final push to get on our two-wheeled people-powered friends, the city has never really made any inroads to encourage us to take to the streets sans motor. Now that's all about to change.

Over the coming weeks the city will begin setting up bike lanes and "sharrows" in heavily trafficked areas to ensure that all vehicles can share the road safely. The city will also be setting up bike racks throughout the downtown core to provide free parking for those working in the area.

The St. Catharines Standard has a lengthy piece on their website with more details. It's almost enough to make a fat guy like me consider breaking out my bike for my daily commute next spring.

Image: Abbotsford.ca

TAGS: Bicycles, Cycling, Exercise, Green Living, Healthy, Stcatharines