Keziah Lesko-Gosselin co-chair of Bike Medicine Hat rides her bike on the bike path on Division Avenue (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Collision involving cyclist prompts reminder to share the road

May 21, 2022 | 8:45 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB–The sounds of two rubber wheels rolling through the pavement are back. Bike season is here, and that has one organization reminding everyone to watch out for cyclists and other pedestrians on the road.

Keziah Lesko-Gosselin is the co-chair of Bike Medicine Hat. She said her organization has seen an explosion of people taking up cycling since the pandemic. Whether it is for fitness, or to save on gas.

“It’s a really good idea to be patient with cyclists and other road users, pedestrians too. Just to be very aware of your surroundings be a respectful road user, and just remember that everyone is just getting to where they are going, and that everyone wants to get there safely,” she said.

The reminder comes days after a cyclist was struck on Hatcher Drive and 20 th street. The Medicine Hat Police Service confirmed the collision to CHAT News and said the cyclist was taken to hospital with unknown injuries on Wednesday, May 18.

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“I think it is really unfortunate. You know every time you hear one of these stories, I mean it makes cyclists angry. It makes motorists angry, and it is very sad because people can become really injured in these collisions and it is often cyclists who are really injured in these collisions,” she said.

Since 2019, according to the Medicine Hat Police Service , there have been 20 collisions involving cyclists. For Lesko-Gosselin, that’s 20 too many.

“Absolutely there should be zero collisions. That shouldn’t be something that we should really have to think about. You know we do have some roadway infrastructure for cyclists in town but really we don’t have any separated pathways. So if you are a cyclist and you are commuting the likelihood is you are going to be sharing the road with motorists.”

Lesko- Gosselin believes better bike infrastructure, would prevent many of the tragic incidents from taking place.

In the meantime, there are a number of things cyclists can do to prevent getting hit by a car.

“Making sure that you are visible to other road users. Using lights on your bike. It is really important to use a bell, so that if you are crossing paths with somebody they can be aware as well,” Lesko- Gosselin said.

When sharing the road with motorists, cyclists are also supposed to follow all traffic signs, and use hand signals to communicate with other drivers.

It’s another set of tools, to ensure cycling remains a safe, fun activity. And an activity Bike Medicine Hat believes ultimately leads to the betterment of society.

“More people on their bikes mean more people are physically healthy, mentally healthy, it is a wonderful way to build community and so having a safe bike culture means having a better community,” Lesko- Gosselin said.