Moncton-area cyclists complain about dirty bike lanes

Cycling enthusiasts in the Moncton area say more needs to be done to keepthe city's bike lanes clear of gravel and glass.

Rick Snyder of Mike's Bike Shop says he has seen the number ofpeople using the bike lanes continue to grow in the last fiveyears.

Snyder lives in Riverview but he commutes about 11 kilometresto his store next to the airport in Dieppe every day.

With the increase in use, he said the communities must make sure the trails and lanes are well maintained.

"Our trail network is fantastic and growing and well kept and in really great shape and well used. But then I have to geton the roads and our roads are not in particularly great shape and particularly the ones withbike lanes that I drive on," he said.

"They're very dirty, they need clean up. They're full of gravel and glass and they need someserious clean up for sure."

Snyder says he realizes it takes time for the cities to clean the paths but he says even once the roads are swept ittakes time before the bike lanes are also clean.

"All the gravel and stuff that their tires kick up end up in the bike lanes," he says.

Those bike lanes are being used by more people than ever.

AndrCormier, aMonctoncommunications officer,there were only 25 cyclists using Vaughn HarveyBoulevard per day about five years ago. Today, that number has grown to 250 a day, he said.

Geoff Gerhardt commutes to work on a sturdy bike with large tires that he used totravelbetween Banff and Mexico last year.

Gerhardtsays it's the right bike forMoncton and Dieppe's roads.

"Definitely handles the potholes and that sort of thing better," he says.

Gerhardt says he's pleased to have seen the growth in bike lanes and bike paths but he thinks more are needed andthey must be maintained.

"You know there are still quite a few roads that there's no bike lanes on and the shoulders are very, verybumpy andgravelly, especially in the spring," he says.

Cormier says the cityis sweeping the bike lanes and itis a priority.

He adds that new bike lanes will be added along Millennium Drive this summer.