Moncton-area cyclists complain about dirty bike lanes
Communities must do more to keep the lanes clean and safe, say cyclists
Cycling enthusiasts in the Moncton area say more needs to be done to keep the city's bike lanes clear of gravel and glass.
Snyder lives in Riverview but he commutes about 11 kilometres to his store next to the airport in Dieppe every day.
With the increase in use, he said the communities must make sure the trails and lanes are well maintained.
"Our trail network is fantastic and growing and well kept and in really great shape and well used. But then I have to get on the roads and our roads are not in particularly great shape and particularly the ones with bike lanes that I drive on," he said.
"They're very dirty, they need clean up. They're full of gravel and glass and they need some serious clean up for sure."
"All the gravel and stuff that their tires kick up end up in the bike lanes," he says.
Those bike lanes are being used by more people than ever.
André Cormier, a Moncton communications officer, there were only 25 cyclists using Vaughn Harvey Boulevard per day about five years ago. Today, that number has grown to 250 a day, he said.
Geoff Gerhardt commutes to work on a sturdy bike with large tires that he used to travel between Banff and Mexico last year.
Gerhardt says it's the right bike for Moncton and Dieppe's roads.
Gerhardt says he's pleased to have seen the growth in bike lanes and bike paths but he thinks more are needed and they must be maintained.
"You know there are still quite a few roads that there's no bike lanes on and the shoulders are very, very bumpy and gravelly, especially in the spring," he says.
Cormier says the city is sweeping the bike lanes and it is a priority.
He adds that new bike lanes will be added along Millennium Drive this summer.