This column is written as correspondence between Byron the Bicyclist and Maddy the Motorist.
Dear Maddie.
“The city with the 13,500 bicycle stall parking garage at its train station” was one question in the Jeopardy game which was a fun part of the Active Transportation conference in New Westminster last month.
“The Indigenous trail from Bella Coola to the Fraser River” was another answer requiring the correct question.
Fun. But we also learned about important active transportation issues.
“New regulations require drivers to take precautions when interacting with vulnerable road users. The changes establish a new minimum distance of one metre that drivers must maintain when passing cyclists and other vulnerable road users. That distance increases to 1.5 meters on highways with a posted speed limit above 50 km/h.” (Reference: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024MOTI0046-000476)
The new regulations flow from last year’s changes to the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act.
Just who are vulnerable road users? It is an all-encompassing word for pedestrians, cyclists and people on scooters, e-scooters, e-bikes, roller blades, skateboards, one-wheels, wheelchairs, horses and the like.
Maddy, you might be wondering if you may cross a solid line when passing a vulnerable road user. If it is safe to pass, you may cross the solid line, but please do so slowly and give space!
Signed, Byron the Bicyclist
Dear Byron.
Thanks for the information on passing. I knew about the minimum one metre distance but didn’t know about the 1.5 metres for faster roads and, if safe, being allowed to cross solid lines.
By the way, what were the questions to the Jeopardy answers?
Signed, Maddie the Motorist
Dear Maddie.
The question to the first answer is “what is Utrecht, the Netherlands?”
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands which has undergone an incredible transformation from being car-dominated, to cyclist and pedestrian first. This answer got a correct response, as it is well-known in the active transportation world as a modern day success story.
I was able to supply the correct response and win my team the points to the second answer, thanks to my local knowledge: "What is the Nuxalk-Carrier Grease Trail?" Routes like the grease trail highlight the historic and cultural importance for Indigenous communities of active transportation.
Signed, Byron the Bicyclist
Bert Groenenberg is a pedestrian, cyclist and motorist living in Williams Lake over 30 years.
