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Bike-parking policy sparks controversy in Windsor, Ont.

Prominent advocacy groups say they weren't consulted, and that the policy would set back the clock on cycling progress in Windsor.

In Windsor, Ont., vehicle parking, sidewalks and transit stops, the Windsor Star reports, are paid for out of municipal coffers. Bike parking, on the other hand? To realize that kind of infrastructure, a new Windsor policy would require businesses to front the cost out of their own pocket.

In response, local BIAs—to say nothing of cyclists and bike advocates in the southern Ontario city—are sounding the alarm.

To riders and advocates, the possibility of Windsor being at the forefront of progressive, city-wide infrastructure for cycling—a rapidly-growing source of healthy competition among Canadian cities—is in jeopardy thanks to one policy. According to Lori Newton, director of Bike Windsor Essex, “In London, Hamilton and Toronto, for sure, businesses do not have to pay for bike parking.”

The sentiment is shared by Larry Horwitz, chairperson for the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Area. “This will become cost prohibitive,” he told the Star. “It will eliminate the idea of new bike parking.”

“If you want to be a progressive city,” Horwitz added, “you don’t do the opposite of what every other city is doing to attract cycling.”

Currently, Windsor has an existing Bicycle Parking on Public Property policy. The introduction of on-street parking, however, is not covered by that policy, the Star reports, and therein lies the controversy. With the new policy—soon to go before city council for a final decision—a laborious process would attend any request for new bike racks, with applications made to the city for approval, and a secondary approval required if the zone of installation falls within one of the city’s BIAs. The policy was already approved by Windsor’s transportation committee last week.

Adding to the controversy over the hastily-adopted policy, groups like the Windsor Bicycling Committee—a prominent advocacy group—say they weren’t consulted.