Please accept this…

Please accept this submission on behalf of the Oxford County Cycling Advisory Committee. In addition to this submission, a letter was emailed directly to Monica Russell, Senior Policy Analyst.

On April 28th I had an opportunity to review the proposed primary cycling route through Oxford County along with other members of the committee. The routes chosen are reasonable and logical. County Road 29 has reasonably light traffic from the east border to the Village of Drumbo. The main intersection in Drumbo is an EDR route for the 401 however the usage as an emergency route is relatively rare.

County Road 29 to the Village of Innerkip has higher traffic volume however the wide shoulders will lend themselves to a paving upgrade should that opportunity arise. County Road 4 from Innerkip to the Pittock trail is similar to County Road 29 wide shoulders ready for paving upgrades. The Pittock bridge does funnel the potential cycling traffic on the shoulder to the travel lane. The distance is approximately 200 meters.

The Pittock trail from County Road 4 to Landsdowne Avenue in Woodstock is a gravel and compacted earth trail. This is apparently scheduled for upgrade. This is a scenic ride and will be a location of high cycling volumes. Landsdowne Ave to Dundas St then to Ingersoll Road are all main streets in the City of Woodstock and allows cyclists to see the City core. Ingersoll Road changes to Beachville Road and once again although fairly high in traffic volume the shoulders lend themselves to paving.

The route through the Town of Ingersoll is logical and allows cyclists to be exposed to the downtown area. Charles Street, Thames Street and Victoria Streets are all typical small town Ontario ripe with historic charm. The main rail crossing located between the Thames River and Victoria Street is particularly rough and could pose a hazard to cyclists. It is a topic of concern by local council and apparently this particular crossing is to have substantial reconstruction shortly.

Victoria Street west out of Ingersoll is a low traffic volume location however the shoulder area of the road is very limited, this is consistent west to the County border.

Although the best cycling routes are those separate from motor vehicles, the route proposed is supported by the Oxford County Cycling Advisory Committee.

[Original Comment ID: 209347]