Second Line bike path petition goes to City Council Monday

Sault Ste. Marie City Council will be presented Monday with a petition seeking a multi-use path on the south side of Second Line between Great Northern Road and Old Garden River Road.

The online petition, started by local physiotherapist Andre Riopel, also asks that the sidewalk on the west side of Great Northern Road between Second Line and Soo Mill also be converted into a multi-use path.

"The city plans to repave Second Line between Old Garden River Road and Great Northern Road this summer, and to install a sidewalk on the south side near the Water Tower Inn," the petition says.

"This would accommodate pedestrians but not the growing number of cyclists who seek to access that part of the city and have no option but to share the roadway with vehicular traffic if no bicycle lane is constructed, to the detriment of faster motorists and slower cyclists alike."

The city's engineering staff argue that neither Second Line nor Great Northern Road are designated as primary cycling routes in the Sault's cycling master plan.

"I just do not understand why we don't do this. It's a no-brainer," Riopel told SooToday's Jasmyn Rowley earlier this month.

Riopel's Second Line proposal is supported by the local accessability advisory committee.

"This type of path is significantly easier to navigate than a concrete sidewalk when using a mobility device," says Shannon Gowans, the committee's chair.

"This is an area of high traffic with mobility device users and a paved path would allow for easier movement."

The petition cites five reasons why the multi-use path is needed:

• safety, especially of cyclists
• traffic flow, since without a multi-path route, slower cyclists will be required by Ontario law to occupy an entire road lane for safety and vehicles will have to wait to pass in another lane when it's safe to do so
• commerce, because with it more cyclists are likely to frequent businesses in the area
• wise use of public funds. Construction of a paved multi-use path is less expensive than building and maintaining a concrete sidewalk for pedestrians only
• promotion of Sault Ste. Marie as a progressive bicycle-friendly city that welcomes visitors to use its multi-purpose routes and enhances the safety of citizens.

By Friday night, the online petition had been signed by 388 people.

To review or sign Riopel's petition, please click here.

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.