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By Tiffany Goodwein

Bike Medicine Hat wants city to become more bike-friendly

Feb 21, 2022 | 11:06 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB– There may be snow on the roads right now but that’s not stopping a local organization from calling on the city to build a better cycling atmosphere for the future.

“It takes a really confident and aggressive cyclist right now to feel comfortable on roadways in Medicine Hat, I think for most people. So our roadway infrastructure I would say it is not friendly for people looking to commute,” said Keziah Lesko-Gosselin.

Lesko-Gosselin is the co- chair of Bike Medicine Hat, a non-profit group that would like to see active transportation planning that will fuel policy changes. One of those changes they would like to see is a reduced speed limit in residential areas.

“In a city like Medicine Hat going 40 instead of 50 might change your commute if you are a vehicle driver by one or two minutes, and really it makes the roadway safer for so many people,” Lesko- Gosselin said.

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A lower speed limit, the organization says would reduce the number of collisions between pedestrians and motorists. The group says between 1999-2018 there have been approximately 79 reported pedestrian-vehicle collisions at city intersections.

Cyclist Dennis Buchko has had a few close calls with motorists himself and he supports Bike Medicine Hat’s push to make the roads safer.

“It is definitely worthwhile because the more people know about the cyclists on the road the more the automobiles, and the cyclists can coexist, it’s tricky, the roadways are narrow and not everyone is paying attention to the cyclists,” he said.

Aside from safer roads, the organization says that while the city has great trails for recreation, they aren’t so great at getting cyclists from point A to B.

“It’s not always easy to get to work or the grocery store via walking or cycling. So those are some of the challenges with infrastructure,” she said.

By making changes to the city’s infrastructure to better accommodate cyclists, Bike Medicine Hat argues the benefits will be far-reaching.

“There’s obvious links between physical activity and human health and mental health. So being more active and having more opportunities to be active and having active transportation accessible to you, it’s better for public health overall,” Lesko Gosselin said.

Bike Medicine Hat will be appearing before City Council on Tuesday, hoping the city can get the wheels in motion,on some of their ideas, so that Medicine Hat can become a better cycling city.