Windsor Coun. Paul Borrelli sparks debate on sidewalk cycling

A Windsor city councillor,who has been the subject of some harsh social media attacks, is under fire once again for suggesting cyclists should be able to ride their bikes on sidewalks.

Coun.Paul Borrellitook heat last month when he turned to Twitter to say he saw people biking "nicely" on city sidewalks, which are legally restricted to pedestrians or children's bicycles.

The reaction was nearly immediate with people chastising the councillorfor his comment, suggesting he should remind everyone that cycling on sidewalks is illegal.

After more than two weeks of silence, Borrellireplied with a response that only prompted more criticisms. He has since said he wants to have a conversation about making some spaces for both cyclists and pedestrians.

"When I first readCoun.Borrelli'stweet, I thought maybe it was a joke I wasn't getting," said Lori Newton, executive director of Bike WindsorEssex, a cyclingadvocacy group. "(But) clearly, he was somewhat serious."

Borrellimentioned Walker Road,DougallAvenue, Cabana Road,TecumsehRoad and Riverside Drive as examples ofbusyroads where sidewalks could be used by both pedestrians and cyclists.

"All I want to do is have a dialogue to entertain the idea," Borrelli told CBC News. "I'm not advocating that we should use all the sidewalks, I'm looking at a shared way for pedestrians and cyclists at the most challenging points."

Sidewalk cycling dangerous

Newton is opposed to the idea of allowing adult cyclists on sidewalks, characterizing it as not only illegal, butdangerous.

Under the current city by-law, only bicycles with a wheel diameterof60 centimetres or less child sized are allowed on the sidewalk.

She says there is plenty of research out there that demonstrates a large portion of cycling accidents occur where sidewalks meet driveways, alleyways or roadways.

"Adriver is going to do a quick check both ways (but)they're anticipating someone coming down the road at the speed of a pedestrian," she said.

When asked about the series of multi-use trails or "shared pathways" in Windsor, Newton was quick to bring up the high number of collisions at the intersection of Tecumseh Road and Lauzon Parkway, where a shared pathway is available.

"The fact that we have the most vehicular-cyclist collisions at Lauzonand Tecumseh might suggest that the shared pathwaydown Lauzon Parkway is problematic," she said."I mean, it looks like a sidewalk (and) it feels like a sidewalk."