A city man is collecting signatures to build a safe bicycle route from the north ward to Thunder Bay’s south side.
Ken Shields bikes to work as often as he can. He leaves his home by the Port Arthur Clinic at 6:15 a.m. and rides straight up Memorial Avenue to his workplace on Vickers Street. The early morning ride sees little traffic and cars can see Shields on his bicycle from blocks away.
The commute home is a different story.
"It's just a nightmare," he said. "The volume of traffic, it's just bumper to bumper. The speed limit is 60 (kilometres per hour) but everyone wants to do 70. There is just no room or place for a bicycle."
Shields has started a petition he plans to submit to the city, asking for a trail along an old railway bed from Winnipeg Avenue near the Auditorium to Carrick Street and Central Avenue.
The path would allow cyclists to avoid Memorial Avenue and Fort William Road to get from one side of the city to the other.
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Shields is a lifelong cyclist and said he's looking for a path to get him across the city that is both safe and efficient.
He approached the city with the issue about eight years ago and they told him about the vacant land by the railway bed.
"They said they're going to develop that and everything will be great. It just never happened," said Shields.
He asked again three years ago and it still hasn't happened, so Shields started a petition based on a suggestion.
He's hoping to collect 500 signatures and so far has about 340.
People can sign the petition at 3Ride BMX Bikes, The Bean Fiend, Cyclepath, Fresh Air Experience, Petrie's Cycle and Sports and Rollin' Thunder Bike and Ski.
Once he has enough signatures, Shields plans to officially present his case to council.
