Cyclists come out for 25th Bike To Work day

(Updated)

Hamilton kicked off bike month this morning with “Bike to Work Day”. Hundreds of cyclists left the keys at home and pedaled into the office instead.

“Bike to Work” day is growing, there were 50% more participants this year than last.

“It’s a bellwether year for cycling in Hamilton,” says Justin Jones, organizer of “Yes We Cannon” bike lane initiative.

Hamilton’s new bike share program “SoBi” unveiled its fleet of commuter bicycles at the event. The bikes will soon be stationed at hubs in lower Hamilton, and for $15 a month, users can unlock a bike, ride it to their destination and drop it off at another checkpoint.

“Any extra revenue will go back into building up the system and we’ll need about 3000 members to get where we want to be. And we anticipate we’ll get them once the bikes hit the ground,” says Chelsea Cox, community manager of SoBi Hamilton.

The initiative is aimed at getting cars off the road and encouraging people to use pedal power instead.

The bike movement is gaining momentum, and Hamilton cyclists will soon have more reasons to ride. Two-way bike lanes are coming to Hunter Street in a couple of weeks and to Cannon later this summer. Still, advocates say those two are just the first step in making Hamilton a more cycle friendly city.

“We need to make sure that we’ve got a good protected grid, a minimum grid of cycling infrastructure to keep cyclists protected and safe,” says Jones.

With the continued problem of downtown gridlock, cyclists say an influx of two wheelers is better for everyone.