North Kildonan resident Oksana Melnyk said her walk Sunday night with her husband down a Gateway Road trail was one they will remember for the wrong reason. “We were hit by a cyclist twice in a time period of about five to ten minutes,” Melnyk said. “It was very bizarre, it was like, ‘Are we under attack or something?’” Melnyk said the first cyclist and a fellow rider did not slow down or ring a bell. “They basically just pushed us and passed through,” she said. Minutes later, she said a young boy clipped the couple by accident. “He literally drove into us,” Melnyk said. “He was on his phone. He had his headphones. I think he got scared as well as we did.” Her family uses the Northeast Pioneers Greenway trail almost every day. It connects East St. Paul with North Kildonan, East Kildonan and stretches as far as Elmwood. She said it’s time the City of Winnipeg invested in signage along the path. “Slow down, ring your bell; maybe those visual reminders are very important,” Melnyk said. “Especially with electric scooters lately, it’s very popular. Electric bikes as well.” Some cyclists agree signs are a good idea. “It could say something like pedestrians be aware of cyclists, cyclists be courteous to pedestrians,” said William, a cyclist riding down the trail who spoke to CTV News. He said another near miss happened to him on Sunday night as he was riding his electric bike. “Two guys, one in each lane, and they didn’t even move over and get in one line so that I could drive by,” he said. “(The) guy would’ve took me out if I didn’t move over into the bushes myself. Rule of thumb is if you see pedestrians coming ahead of you, slow down.” Coun. Jeff Browaty, (North Kildonan) said he walks his dog down this trail. Browaty said there have been several complaints and thinks the city should invest in signs. “Both signage as well as public education,” Browaty said. “Letting people know that hey, you should be taking care of other people using these paths. It’s a multi-use.” Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg, said cyclists should give pedestrians a heads-up when passing. “I’ve got a bell that helps me let people know that I’m behind them,” Cohoe said. “If I’m on a pathway, I want to make sure I’m giving people space as well.” Cohoe also said the federal government should re-evaluate the imports of electric bikes coming into the country. “Some of these bikes are approaching motorcycles,” Cohoe said. “They’re supposed to be limited to 32 kilometres an hour. It’s apparent that some are easily enough altered so that they’re not limited to that 32 kilometres an hour.”
