Outspokin' Port Colbourne Slow Roll .. begins May 30th

Rob Salewytsch wants people to slow down and explore the community. And he wants them to do it by bicycle. It’s why he started OutSpokin, a company dedicated to running Slow Rides through the streets of Port Colborne. “Slow Rides came about after seeing the success Buffalo and Detroit had with their Slow Roll rides. Slow Rides are community-minded rides at low speeds and are non-competitive. The idea is to get people out to ride who might otherwise not be comfortable and give them a chance to explore the community,” said Salewytsch. He said Port Colborne is a nice, compact city where a person can get from one end to the other in eight to 10 minutes by bike. “So there’s isn’t really a need to drive … I want to provide people another option. It falls in line with what I do as a transportation planner with the (Niagara) Region,” said Salewytsch, who is also chair of Port Colborne’s active transportation advisory committee. He said the rides, for all ages and abilities, will take place every Tuesday, starting at Market Square on Charlotte Street with registration at 5:30 p.m., and the ride itself at 6 p.m. The rides are 16 kilometres long and the first one is Tuesday, May 30. “It sounds like a lot, but at a slow pace it only takes an hour to an hour-and-a-half. It’s really not that long. We’ll go slow enough so even if you’re not in great shape, you can keep up.” He said the rides will be suitable for young children as well, and there will be Meanderthals — Slow Ride guides and more experienced riders — along to help out anyone who has bicycle trouble, needs direction or who drops back from the group. “We have six routes planned right now around the city and will rotate those. We’ll use city roads, the Friendship Trail and Welland Canals Parkway Trail. We’ll give people a little exposure to every type of road in the city and won’t shy away from roads like Clarence or Elm streets. People need to know how to ride those roads.” Port Colborne only has one road — Killaly Street West — with dedicated bicycle lanes, he said, adding there is definitely a need for more in the city. “We’re lucky that we have the trails, but those don’t get you everywhere you need to go, and you need to use roads to get to those trails. We’re hoping to see more lanes in Port Colborne. We’re not looking for bicycle lanes on every road, we’re looking to build a safe core network.” Salewytsch said bicycle lanes make things safer for both drivers and cyclists. He said when the riders take to the city’s busier streets, the Meanderthals will watch those taking part. The rides will not only take people through parts of the city they may not normally visit, but, he said, they will give people a chance to learn about hand signals that must be used, and the use of bells, lights and reflectors — things that cyclists are required to have by law. For people who may have a bicycle and still want to take part, Salewytsch said Cycle-Logical Rentals in Port Colborne will offer ride night deals. “If you don’t have a bicycle, the Broken Spoke Bicycle Repair Program is more than willing to help us out. We want to remove all the barriers we can for people so they can come out and ride.” Salewytsch said Paradigm Transportation Solutions Ltd.and CAA Bike Assist have stepped up as sponsors. Grant money is also coming from the Ontario Transportation Ministry’s Road Safety Challenge. “We’re starting to talk to local businesses now, too,” he said. For more information OutSpokin Slow Rides, follow its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OutSpokinSlowRides/ or email Outspokinslowrides@gmail.com. dajohnson@postmedia.com Twitter: @DaveJTheTrib