In 2014, the Elgin-St…

In 2014, the Elgin-St. Thomas Cycling Master Plan was adopted by all municipalities and the County of Elgin. Since then, local municipalities along with the County have endeavoured to construct new cycling facilities such as paved shoulders, bike lanes, and signed routes. At a recent municipal consultation held in October, municipal staff confirmed their commitment to fully implement the Cycling Master Plan. However, municipalities need financial assistance from the Province and other funders in order to fully implement the cycling facilities identified in the Cycling Master Plan.
The County of Elgin will be assuming ownership of part of Wonderland Road that connects to the City of London. Wonderland Road was previously identified in the Cycling Master Plan as a medium term potential cycling route in order to connect cyclists safely to London. This potential infrastructure would support cyclists travelling to and from London to St. Thomas for work, leisure or recreational purposes while contributing to Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan. If the County of Elgin received financial support to develop paved shoulders along Wonderland Road, then a new cycling facility could be created, thereby improving the environmental design to support active living while also contributing to reduced green house gas emissions produced by vehicles. This cycling route would create a cleaner and healthier transportation option for the residents of Elgin-St. Thomas and the City of London.
There are several other opportunities to improve cycling facilities across Elgin County. Emphasis should be placed on improving the cycling facilities in rural areas, not just urban areas especially when a Cycling Master Plan has already been developed and approved. Paved shoulders and signed routes have already been identified as part of the plan, but not yet fully implemented. These roads in particular are in need of paved shoulders: Caverly Road between Brook Line and Fath Ave in Aylmer; Lakeview Line from Fingal Line to west of Docker Road in Dutton; Glencolin Line from Hacienda Road to Springer Hill Road in Malahide. There is also potential to add paved shoulders along Lyons Line and Pressey Line to connect to the Town of Tillsonburg and Ferguson Line to Wonderland Road to increase connectivity to London.
There are other municipalities such as West Elgin, Southwold and Bayham that would benefit from having additional signage to support the signed bicycle routes that are in the Cycling Master Plan.
In addition to paved shoulders and signage, bike parking could be make available at all local arenas and branch libraries. Arenas and libraries are accessible to the public and are widely available in small hamlets, villages and towns that are part of a rural community such as Elgin County. Bike parking could be made available at all Ports in Elgin County (Port Burwell, Port Bruce, Port Stanley, Port Glasgow) to support cycling along the existing Lake Erie Waterfront Trail.
Additional amenities such as water hydration stations and benches should be made available at the same locations where bike parking is available. Additional public washrooms at key intersections along cycling routes would support cycling for tourism, recreation and travelling purposes. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on Ontario's Cycling Strategy.

[Original Comment ID: 202881]