A Saskatoon cyclist’s death on May 24 has been a call to action for a 17-year-old girl looking to make a change.
Lucy Stobbe has been cycling since she was 14, and after hearing that Natasha Fox, a teacher at her former elementary school, was struck and killed while cycling, she is now putting together a protest to build awareness of cycling safety issues in the city.
“At least weekly, I’m either getting honked at, sworn at. I’m nervous for my life,” Stobbe said.
She said she’s hoping to get cyclists to come out to City Hall on June 18 as part of the protest.
“I’m going to start at City Hall at 2 p.m., and then from there we’re going to bike up to College Drive or 25th Street, and then all the way to Cumberland Avenue, and then make a U-turn and come back down.”
Stobbe said cycling is cheap and a greener option, but the fear of the unsafe conditions on Saskatoon roadways is preventing many from biking.
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“We as a city need to do something, and if the citizens are scared to bike, that’s an issue.”
She said more awareness of how to drive around cyclists is needed, noting she recently took a driver’s training course and they didn’t go over biking hand signals.
“My parents always taught me even though I’m young I can still make a change, and I think young people sparking change really inspires other people.”
Saskatoon’s Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block said Natasha Fox’s death has put a spotlight on the need to make sure all users of the road are being considered, not just cars.
Fox, 33, was killed while cycling when she was struck by a cement truck at the intersection of College Drive and Wiggins Avenue in Saskatoon.
Her two young sons were cycling with her when the collision happened.
Block pushed four motions last week around the topic, one of which was a road safety audit.
“What we have to do is make sure that we are carefully reviewing the evidence and data when such a tragedy happens so that we know if we need to pay more attention to an area, and invest to make sure that all road users can move around safely.”
“We’re also among the fastest growing cities in Canada, and what does that mean? Well you have more people, and you have more road users of every kind,” Block said.
— with files from Brooke Kruger
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