By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 8, 2013

Bike lanes backed for Cannon Street

The city’s longest stretch of protected two-way bike lanes is coming to the so-called Cannon Expressway.

More than 2,300 residents signed a Yes We Cannon petition calling for segregated, bidirectional bike lanes on the fast-moving, four-lane artery.

The grassroots push helped convince councillors Thursday to approve bike lanes on Cannon between Sherman Avenue and Bay Street — even as they braced for blowback from commuters losing a car lane to the $600,000 pilot project.

“This is a tough call,” said Councillor Bernie Morelli, who added he’s heard from bike-lane supporters as well as residents enraged by the plan. “But I want (councillors) to know you’re doing the right thing.”

The new bike lanes won’t be a traffic stopper, said Justin Jones of the Yes We Cannon campaign.

“Look at the city’s own numbers, there is plenty of capacity on that street,” he said, pointing to vastly higher daily car counts on arteries such as Garth, Golf Links and Upper James compared to Cannon. “We’re not in any danger of traffic grinding to a halt.”

Slowing traffic, on the other hand, won’t bother area residents, said Dave Stevens of North End Neighbours, who noted 10 schools are located within a block of Cannon.

“We all want a safer street,” he said.

Jones urged the city to measure the number of cyclists using the new bikes lanes, but also the number of collisions, which he believes will drop. “This is a safety measure for cyclists and for (car) drivers.” (Source: The Hamilton Spectator)