City should offer cyclists free rides up and down escarpment: report

Hamilton is considering offering free rides up and down the escarpment on HSR buses for cyclistsand it won't even costmuch.

City officials say such a move wouldaddress safety concerns for cyclists travelling up and down the escarpment. And the program wouldn't cost much, if anything, saysastaff report coming tocity council's general issues committee on Thursday.

The issue of cyclists' safety came to the forefront after a 53-year-old kindergarten teacher, JayKeddy,was struck and killedon theClaremontAccessenrouteto a prayer meeting in 2015.

• Kindergarten teacher JayKeddykilled biking onClaremontAccess
• Cycling advocates call for Hamilton to boost bike infrastructure

Coun. Terry Whitehead suggested delineated bike lanes as a possible solution.Last November,councillorsvotedto pursue the idea of offering free HSR rides up and down the mountain for anyone with a bicycle.

Transit staffworked with public works to address a number of obstacles in implementing the plan. That includesbike rack availability, fare equality, fare evasion andoperating delays.

The investigation found a free ride program would encourage cycling among residents, providedrivers travel options and support the city's goals of sharing the road with cyclists.

Councillors will vote on this on March 23.

If given the green light, the city wouldlaunch the programonMay 29, which just so happens to be Bike to Work Day.