Calgary drivers, cyclists urged to share the road

Spring is here and Calgary's roads are full of bikers and bicyclists, but so are the city's streets.

As it's cycling season here, Calgary police are issuing a warning to share the road with cyclists and give them extra time to react.

“Make sure they're at least a meter away from them and give them that way away from the curb so they don't run over them and push them over,” said Sgt. Dallas Grimm, with the Calgary Police Service.

“We've only had one collision between a cyclist and a car this year. However, in the past they were a bit more frequent. We have several collisions a year.”

On May 12, a 60-year-old man was hit by a bicyclist on McLeod Trail near 210 Avenue SE.

He was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition, but is stable. The incident occurred in the McLeod Trail northbound merge lane.

Bob Grunewald, director of marketing for Bow Cycle, said they have club ambassadors on the streets trying to help as many riders as possible.

“We have a 300-strong cycling team and they are our ambassadors on the road,” Grunewald said.

“But what we're seeing is a lot of people coming in, a lot of commuters trying to save a few extra bucks on the road these days. It's a lot cheaper, you can do your exercise.”

According to Grunewald, Bow Cycle is seeing different trends in the popularity of cycling.

“Right now, we're seeing more people getting into gravel bikes,” he said.

“And for mountain bikes, it seems to be popular again. Mountain bikes are overtaking road bikes again.”

Cyclist Mark Fedoroshin says many drivers are just now realizing that there are more bikes on the road.

“It's just that they've been through a long winter without bikes on the road and now it's all there,” he said.

“Drivers need to be very aware of this and give them space and understand that these are very light machines with light people and they are driving a very heavy machine.”

Fedoroshin says he has experienced close encounters with the car, and says it can sometimes overcome him with emotion.

“A little bit of anger, usually the first reaction, is that they didn't pay attention or they didn't pay enough attention to it,” Fedoroshin said.

“Usually it's one. And then, of course, you can create a fear of being comfortable on the roads.