Here is a letter we wrote to the City of Niagara Falls advocating for continued Active Transportation enhancements!
Hello,
I have messaged both city council and staff previously with my thoughts on bike lanes and the lack of active transportation system that exists in Niagara Falls. This will be a more complete view of those thoughts - with a little backstory on how I got to this point.
From birth to 2017 I lived in rural Thorold. I led a very sedentary life when I resided there. I drove my car everywhere to get things done. I drove to get groceries, I drove to go to see my friends, I infrequently completed the drive to the gym to try and get some exercise that I secretly resented. To do anything, I essentially had to get in a vehicle.
In 2018, I moved to urban Niagara Falls. I had opened up my business, at the same address the year before. One of the things that I slowly realized upon moving to the area was that I could now choose to walk or cycle everywhere to get the things I need. For leisure, for entertainment, I could very easily choose alternative measures of transportation instead of the personal vehicle.
My life changed quite dramatically after I moved. I went from walking about 5,000 steps a day to 20,000 a day in addition to other exercise. I was 215 pounds when I moved to Niagara Falls. Over the course of the next few years, with the help of my new active lifestyle allowed by the urban landscape where I now lived, the pounds began to shed. Exercise and activity became part of my daily routine instead of something I went somewhere to do. I dropped to 150 pounds by 2020 and haven’t looked back.
During the process I slowly realized how the urban landscape of the city helped to facilitate my new active lifestyle. I came to really appreciate how I could accomplish most of my daily tasks by walking or riding my bike. I came to realize how I didn’t have to “go to the gym” to get in shape, I could now just be more active in every hour of my life and become a healthier and happier person.
However, it wasn’t without its dangers. I’ve been ignored and nearly struck by vehicles several times in many of Niagara Falls’ intersections while walking through them. I’ve been touched by cars passing by my shoulder while cycling on the side of the road. I’ve almost had my toes run over several times as drivers rush to turn off busy roads into parking lots without considering my presence on the sidewalk. I’ve walked through intersections (Drummond and Lundy’s Lane come to mind) that do not allow enough time on the cross clock for a fit 33 year old to cross the road. What happens when a 80 year old with a walker wants to get across those same 5 lanes of vehicle traffic? (Hint: they probably don’t even try). Winter travel by foot or bike is even more treacherous. Why are we still the only (I believe) municipality in the Niagara Region without a sidewalk snow clearing by-law? While the roads are clear of everything, our sidewalks often lay as death traps of snow and ice, even in the areas where the sidewalk plows visit. I slowly began to realize how far the deck of cards are stacked against those who want to travel by active transportation in Niagara Falls.
In August of last year I signed up to ride my bicycle to raise funds to combat Childhood Cancer. I rode through many portions of Niagara Falls and sent a letter to city council regarding the positive and negative experiences I had on my rides. I received some replies and was eventually pointed to the 2011 Transportation Plan by Lori Lococo and then Matthew Bilodeau to show that the city had already heard my concerns and was prioritizing active transportation. The only problem was that all of the projected dates provided in that plan have passed - with very little of the proposed network completed. Multiple roads that were included in the proposed network had been re-done in the space of time from 2011-2023, but did not receive the benefit of active transportation improvements. I was told that this was because in some cases, the active transportation plan was not scheduled to be implemented when other road work was completed. I can not comprehend how or why this is the case. How can the city claim to be prioritizing active transportation in the 2011 plan when there was a deliberate choice made to not include the plan specifically created for it when they reconstruct the roadways? Another reason given was lack of funding. But if these improvements are not being implemented during other roadway construction projects (when they would certainly be most affordable) when will they ever happen? 13 years later our city is making a new plan that once again seems to prioritize active transportation. What will be different this time to make it an actual reality?
As each year passes, I notice an increase in both bicycle and stand-up electric scooter usage in my area of the city. With the overall increase, there is also an increase in these being used on the sidewalks instead of the side of the road. I’d estimate that 50% of bicycles are on the sidewalk, while 80-90% of stand-up scooters ride there. With increasing frequency I have been walking around the streets of my neighborhood, headphones in, enjoying my life, and an electric scooter flies right by my shoulder at 25 km/h. Each and every time this happens it’s a shock to the system. With the lack of bike lanes in the city, even though I do not appreciate their decision to ride on the sidewalk, I can certainly understand it knowing the dangers of the roadway. This behavior often happens on Lundy’s Lane and Ferry Street where I spend the most of my time walking. These streets are included in the 2011 proposed active transportation network. We planned to avoid this scenario 13 years ago, what’s taking so long?
I believe there are a few things leading to the increased usage in bicycles and other active and public transportation in my area. The increasing inequality in our society is a big factor. The increase in the cost to own a personal vehicle certainly contributes. Some people may be making a conscious choice to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. But one of the biggest things is Niagara Falls’ continued utility as a first landing place for immigrants and refugees. Niagara Falls’ huge availability of unused hotel rooms through the winter months leaves it as a unique place that can offer a temporary refuge for new people to our country.
As the owner of a second hand store, I come in contact with many of the people who are placed in Niagara Falls on a daily basis. Among the many things they require and desire right after they land is a bicycle. Last summer while I was traveling down Buchanan Avenue, I looked over at the Comfort Hotel parking lot. I knew that this hotel was housing a lot of new people to the area. The ENTIRE back fence of the property had bicycles locked to it. When I type “the entire fence”, I mean it - there were 100+ bikes locked to the bars. These are some of the people we are failing by not following the 2011 Active Transportation plan, along with the rest of the low income Niagara Falls residents and workers who have fewer choices in how they manage to get around our city. This is on top of the people who want to be able to make a choice in traveling by safer and healthier alternative modes of transportation in our city.
At the end of Buchanan Avenue is a stretch of Ferry Street that is being re-done this Spring and Fall. This stretch of road is in the 2011 active transportation plan for bike lanes. To no surprise, when I clicked on the information boards for the project, there were no bike lanes included in the plans. When I inquired and asked why we aren't following the 2011 plan - I was told that they weren’t included because the sidewalks are slightly wider here (no complaints about that) and that there are no other connecting bike lanes in the area. Well, there are no other connecting bike lanes because we have yet to follow the rest of the 2011 plan. The sidewalks are a little wider here, sure, but there is still a very wide stretch of pavement that is entirely dedicated for personal vehicles. These are both weak arguments to make in my opinion. Bike Lanes could be installed here and a network built upon in the future. We are again choosing not to do it.
I followed along with the process and wrote similar letters during the public information centre(s) for the reconstruction of Lundy’s Lane from Highland to Montrose Road. It unfortunately followed a similar pattern to what has happened in Niagara Falls as a whole. In the beginning, the designs that checked the most boxes (literally, they checked the most boxes in the tables that were included in the presentation) were the ones that included active transportation. They also had the most positive comments to go along with it. But has PIC #1 moved to PIC #2 and then to PIC #3….the excuses came. “We need 5 lanes for the cars and vehicular traffic”. “The road is too busy for bike lanes”. “Let’s move the bike lane to Barker Street instead”. The common themes emerged once again in the battle to make our streets safer and accessible for all. The resulting approved design(s) really only did one thing: create more space for the personal vehicle at the behest of every other mode of transportation.
In my opinion, this is an extremely troubling and shortsighted decision. Lundy’s Lane is a designated candidate for intensification. This was made apparent in the Public Information Centre(s) for this project. It was also highlighted at the December PIC for the Transportation Plan on some of the information boards. The city wants densely populated residential buildings along this stretch of road in the near future. Compared to single family homes, apartment dwellers are much less likely to own a vehicle. They are much more likely to walk or ride a bike to do a daily task. Despite all of this knowledge, we are going to rebuild this road with only private vehicle owners in mind. It’s a real shame we haven’t learned from our mistakes yet.
Our local news is flooded with talk and chatter about our unsafe roads. A pedestrian is struck here. A cyclist is run over by a vehicle there. A deadly multi-vehicle crash occurs somewhere else. Our solutions so far are signs, which, while cheap and easy to install are largely ineffective - and red-light speed cameras, which teach people after the fact. Why aren’t we focusing more on creating safer roads with the active transportation plans we already have at every opportunity we get? Designing and building roads that have proven preventative methods to reduce speed and collisions? There are a plethora of options available when re-designing streets and roads to make them more safe - I rarely see them implemented in Niagara Falls to this point.
In the stretch of Ferry Street from Stanley to Main, wrought iron steel tree guards have been installed around the young trees that were planted a few years ago. Six of these tree guards have now been removed after sustaining extensive damage. I personally witnessed a car mount the sidewalk and slam into one of them after losing control on a wet morning one day outside of my apartment. I walked up on another accident shortly after it happened that destroyed another one of the guards. Using my first hand knowledge, I can only confidently assume that the other 4 that are missing came as a result of a vehicle crashing into them. Pedestrians and cyclists don’t stand a chance if they’re unlucky.
In the scant areas that we have installed bike lanes, they often leave a lot to be desired in terms of safety. I look at the newly installed bike lanes along Main Street and Victoria Avenue. Instead of putting them beside the sidewalk, separating them from the vehicle roadway and having parked cars create a natural safety barrier - They were placed in the lane closest to traffic and guided around the areas for street parking. Not only does this put the person on a bicycle at greater risk of being hit by someone on the road, it also opens the door to…..having to cycle around people opening their car doors. Cyclists now get to pretend they’re driving at Mosport going through all of the bends that have been painted to accommodate parked vehicles. Instead of the safety of people on bicycles, we prioritized the safety of parked cars?
While I am heavily critical about the lack of implementation of the 2011 plan in this letter, there are some positives. The path that runs along the hydro canal (save for the stretch where there is no infrastructure to help you get over the 420 highway bridge) is great for a recreational ride. I have used this trail plenty of times. The Olympic Torch Run Legacy Trail is also wonderful. I bike and/or walk along this trail whenever I need to get from my place to downtown. I would love to see more paths like this. I see a prime opportunity in continuing projects like these along the power line corridors that run through the city.
The 2011 transportation plan listed active transportation as the #1 priority. I don’t think that has come even close to fruition in reality. Travel by personal vehicle was exclusively prioritized with the majority of road reconstructions from 2011-2023. The early stages of the new transportation plan that we are developing in 2024 hints at the same active transportation prioritization once again. What will be different this time?
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read my letter. Take care and
All the best,
Nick Cupolo