Qualicum Beach mayor Brian Wiese wants the town to launch an educational bicycle campaign that has a ring to it.
Wiese expressed, at council’s regular meeting on July 20, the need to have bicycle bells to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.
“What I’d like to do is do a public campaign on the importance of bells on your bicycle,” Wiese said. “So when you’re passing someone on a bike lane or down Harlech Road or those ones that when you’re approaching pedestrians you can ring a bell, so that you’re not running into them or scaring the bejesus out of them.”
Wiese made a motion to direct staff to come up with a report for an educational or informational campaign for all cyclists to have a bell or device capable of being used as a warning.
Coun. Teunis Westbroek indicated he has a bell on his bike and uses it to warn pedestrians. But he noted that despite ringing it several times, people just tend to ignore it.
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“People have earphones on or they’re chatting,” said Westbroek. “So I found the best solution is to say ‘coming through’ and ‘oh thank you.’ So it’s just practical. When you see people walking and talking, they may hear a bell and may think it’s a little kid playing with something. But if you say ‘coming through’ people really appreciate that.”
Coun. Scott Harrison it would also help to indicate which direction you’re heading, on the left or on the right, to avoid and collision.
“Just having a clear understanding of who’s supposed to go in which direction would really help, as well as just having the noise as well,” Harrison said.
The motion pass unanimously.