Can there be a safe bike route between London and Port Stanley? This cyclist thinks so

Luis Patricioremembers how liberating it was the first time he rode his bicycle nearly45 kilometresfrom London to Port Stanleya few years ago. But he admits majority of the route feltunsafe.

"It was really scary for a big part of it becauseI was on the main roads with heavy traffic," said Patricio, who will starta PhDin transport justice at Western University in September.

It got him thinking about how many other cyclists would benefit from the ride if they feltcomfortable. Since then, he took the trip a few times through both county roads and arterial streets.

"I could see there is some cycling infrastructure for most of the way. It's a bit longer than the straight route but I realized that this is actually a doable bike ride," he said.

Patricio takes the Thames Valley Parkway from Ivey Parktoward Ridout Street South until he turns on Ferndale Avenue andtakes residential streets, including Homeview Road which will soon have bike lanes.

WATCH | What are benefits of a regional bike path?:

Cyclist makes the case for a bike route between London and Port Stanley

1 month ago

Duration 1:28

Luis Patricio researches transport justice and says a safe bike path between London, St. Thomas and Port Stanley can give people more travel options and boost local business and tourism.

The street then takesPatricio to White Oak Road, which has bike lanes and he eventually continues along Wonderland Road South into St. Thomas. Patricio said thisstretch is the most dangerous because despite having a wide gravel shoulder, it has high traffic volume.

The last quarter of the tripbrings him to Sunset Drive which goes straight to Port Stanley and has dedicated cycling infrastructure.

Connecting the dots

The route can be upgraded to include signs,paved roads and protected bike lanes, Patriciosaid, adding that while he's unsure of the cost, hebelieves it's feasible because a big chunk of the wayalready has frameworkin place.

"It's about connecting those dots from London to Port Stanley andthe municipalities along the way can be connected as well, specifically St. Thomas," he said.

Cody Bartlett agrees. He co-owns a bicycle shop inSt. Thomas and said an accessibleroute between the municipalities would bepopular among cyclists and canmake the trip easier.

"The big thing is to just get London and St Thomas to talk and say 'Yes there's a way we can make the pathway meet here so itcontinues on straight' instead of having to kind of zig-zag and make your own path for a couplekilometres," said Bartlett.

SarahGrady, London's transportation design manager, said the city'sCycling Master Plan(CMP) idenitifies the importance of providing good quality active transportation connections to surrounding municipalities.

Herteam is working with the province and neighbouring municipalities to figure out how to connectLondon's cycling network to the region, she said.

"The desire for these connections along with current and future routes is identified in the CMP," said Grady.

Bartlett said his business partner rides from Byron to St. Thomas every week. He has no trouble cyclingalong the shoulder ofWonderland Road, but Bartlett said riding on unpaved roads isn't easy for all cyclists.

"If you do stay on the gravel or back roads,there's generally less cars passing by you but the biggest issuecomes down to vehicles," he said. "Most give you lots of space but the few that don't, ruin it for others who aren't as comfortable on the road."

More cyclists on a regional bike route can also boost local tourism and businesses since they will likely make frequent stops along the way, said Patricio, who hopes itgivesmore people travel freedom.

"The only cost of going to a public beach is actually getting there and if you don't have a car, that's prohibitive because youhave to rent a car or get a ride," he said. "We need to create more opportunities for people to get outside."