Date Posted: May 31, 2011
Date Printed: May 27, 2011
By Chelsea Thornton (The Cascade) – Email
One of the most common complaints amongst students at UFV is lack of parking and the price we pay for those coveted stalls. The Abbotsford Cycling Action Group is organizing the local Bike to Work Week event to demonstrate that cycling is a viable alternative to cramped parking, expensive fuel, and harmful emissions.
On Tuesday May 31, the Eastside Abbotsford Bike to Work Week 2011 will be led by Mayor George Peary, along with many members of the city council. There will also be a Westside Ride, led by Abbotsford Cycling Action Group Chairperson Ken Wuschke. “Bike to Work Week is trying to encourage people from Abbotsford through to Hope to get cycling to work,” he explained.
The goal of Bike to Work Week is to attract new riders to bicycle commuting by showing the community that it is safe, practical, and easy to replace your vehicle with a bicycle. In Abbotsford, the BTWW Rides are demonstration commutes, but also serve as a celebration of the City of Abbotsford’s efforts to make this car-dominated city a better place to bike. Wuschke explained that “the installation of bike lanes and the continued commitment to extending the Discovery Trail clearly shows us that the City of Abbotsford is committed to a more sustainable future through actions today.”
The rides start at about 7:10 a.m. in two separate locations: at Townline Hill Park on Blue Jay Street just north of Blueridge Drive, and at Fire Hall 7 on Old Clayburn Road. Both rides will meet up at 7:50 at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre Celebration Station, where Life Cycles will provide free mechanics. Together, the rides will continue to the City Hall Celebration Station, arriving at 8:20. At City Hall there will be tables set up by the Green Team and Healthy Abbotsford.
The event’s organizers would like to encourage UFV participation; “we want to get as many students, faculty, and staff people at UFV involved,” Wuschke said.
If you miss Bike to Work Week, you can still start your own cycling commute routine. Secondhand bikes can be found listed for as cheap as 25 dollars in online classified ads. The employees at local bike stores can be a great resource, not just for information about bikes, but routes around town, as they often cycle to work themselves. There are marked bike lanes in Abbotsford running along parts of Downes Road, Clayburn and Old Clayburn Roads, George Ferguson Way, South Fraser Way, Bevan Avenue, Peardonville Road, and the Fraser Highway. Highway 11 is also a provincially designated bike route. A complete map of bike routes in Abbotsford is available at http://www.abbotsford.ca/Assets/Abbotsford/Engineering+Department/Cycling/Bike+Route+Map.pdf Bike lanes are also being added in Mission and Chilliwack.
