On October 25th a number of Sudbury Cyclists Union and Cycling Grannies members joined dignitaries and other members of the community to officially open Greater Sudbury’s first section of what the City is now calling the “Paris/Notre Dame Bikeway” – and our first crossrides. We demonstrated how to use a crossride to cross Paris St. at the Ramsey Lake Road intersection.Watch a video here: http://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1241759

Crosswalks are pretty simple: they allow people to walk safely across an intersection. Crossrides are simple too: they allow people to bike safety cross an intersection. In both cases, people on foot or on bikes have the right of way.

It is illegal according to the Highway Traffic Act to be on your bike in a crosswalk eg within the hatched line area. Crossrides give cyclists a safe, marked space to cross the road without having to dismount. In a large intersection, the crossride is usually just to the left of the crosswalk. At smaller intersections, there may not necessarily be a crosswalk but there will still be a crossride. You can see both kinds of crossrides on the new Paris street cycling infrastructure. That infrastructure includes a combination of cycle tracks and clearly-marked multi-use path, plus intersection enhancements like crossrides and yellow tactile areas for the visually impaired.

Other crossrides that will be added to Greater Sudbury roads, including Second Avenue.

It’s pretty simple for us as cyclists: you check just in case to make sure everything is clear and as long as you have a green light, you proceed without having to dismount.The challenge will be to educate car drivers who are infamous here for cutting off pedestrians who have the right of way. The potential for a collision is greater for cyclists because we are going faster than pedestrians and car drivers may more severely misjudge their ability to sneak in front of us to turn. Or just not look for us.