Cycling safety prompts youth to get political

BY SYLVIA JACQUARD

An avid cyclist, Thomas Janes, 16, would like to be able to bike to Wolfville or New Minas from his home in Port Williams, but crossing the dyke is risky. Not only do the vehicles, including a fair number of trucks, travel very fast on this roadway, but the shoulders are unpaved.

He would like to see a three-foot paved shoulder on each side of the road to enable safe biking across the dyke and has written letters to local, municipal and provincial politicians with his request.

He presented his letter to a meeting of the Port Williams Village Commission, sent one to David Morse, Kings South MLA (in whose jurisdiction the highway is), to Mark Parent MLA for Kings North (in whose jurisdiction the village of Port Williams lies), his County Councillor Janet Newton and Kings County Warden Fred Whalen.

Morse and Parent acknowledged receipt of his letter and indicated that his request would be taken under consideration.

The issue was discussed by the Village Commissioners at their July meeting and a letter written to the Department of Highways asking for information on the possibility of having the shoulder paved. The Commissioners felt that not only would a paved shoulder be safer for cyclists, it might also be beneficial for drivers in the winter.

Cost would be $250,000 per kilometre

The Department of Transportation replied that the cost would be $250,000 per km (the road across the dyke is just over one km) to pave the shoulders and since they were concentrating on roads that required repair before those that needed upgrading, this project wouldn’t be in their plans for the near future.

Janet Newton, municipal councillor for Port Williams, took Janes’ request to the Trails committee of Kings County Council and accompanied him to a meeting Sept. 24 where he outlined the problem and gave his solution.

Janes told the committee that since he wasn’t old enough to get his license and the village had no bus service, he wanted to use his bike to get around, but found that driving across the Port Williams dyke was hazardous. His proposal of paving the shoulders would be less expensive, quicker and easier to accomplish than other trail options discussed in the past that involve dykeland and the upgrades to the bridge.

As a result of his presentation, the committee will recommend that Council seek partners such as the province and health promotion organizations to raise awareness and financial support for the project.

Newton said during the meeting that running on the Port Williams dyke may be a big eye-opener for participants in the upcoming Harvest Marathon next month. Another committee member commented that the Dept. of Transportation should recognize the needs of all vehicles, not just motorized ones.

When asked what he planned to do next, Janes said, “I need to wait and see what the council’s response is, to see if they would support it. I was glad for the opportunity to be heard and that people in authority are considering my opinion. I think that the recommendation is a great step forward.”