P.E.I. pressured to improve cycling safety

An Alberta man whose wife was killed while cycling on a P.E.I. highway is campaigning to make the Island a safer place for visiting and local cyclists.

This summer Edmund Aunger's wife, Elizabeth Sovis, was hit by a drunk driver while she was cycling on the side of a highway with no paved shoulder north of Hunter River. The couple needed to ride on the highway to get to their bed and breakfast, and it was a recommended route in the cycling guide.

"Rennies Road and other routes which are recommended by the province for cyclists in their cycling guide are not safe for cyclists," said Aunger.

"I would also very much like to see an action plan in the province that would look at building infrastructure, so that people can ride their bicycles safely."

Aunger will be cycling from Alberta to P.E.I. over the next five years to campaign the P.E.I. government to make it safer for cyclists by paving more shoulders.

Tourism Minister Rob Henderson said the government wants P.E.I. to be seen as a safe place to cycle, and he intends to work with the Transportation Department to see what can be done.

"The issue is to once again is to identify ways that we can enhance the cycling public to have access to communities and access to amenities from the Confederation Trail," said Henderson.

"I don't want to put any onus on anyone at this point in time. It's really about entering into that discussion and seeing if there are ways we can identify improvements."

Henderson said he'll be meeting with the Transportation Department in the new year. Auger hopes to see some changes to Island highways by the time he reaches P.E.I. in 2017.