Moncton cyclists say dirty bike lanes dangerous

Monctoncyclists are calling on the city to take better care of its bike lanes, calling it a safety issue.

Avid cyclist Chris Lewis saysgravel, glass and garbage are making some of the bike lanesdangerous to ride on.

"You find all kinds of crazy stuffhub caps, debris from vehicles," he said.

"You're trying to avoid some of this stuff, and you end up coming out of the bike laneswhen traffic [is heavy] as well as travelling quite fast.I mean, those are life-threatening situations at times."

Lewis says he appreciates that the city has put in the bike lanes.

"But you'd think that after theyput in thateffort,that thenthey would maintain them.And it doesn't really seem to be the case.It seems to be something that getsoverlooked," he said.

"Every year, I wait in the spring for the bike lanes to be cleaned and sometimes it doesn't seem to happen at all."

City Coun.Dawn Arnold, who often cycles to work, agrees the lanes are dirty.

But she contends the city is doing the best it can.

"Street sweepers have actually made a couple of passes through the entire city already, but it's tough because there's just a lot going on and a lot of that debris is getting tracked onto the road all the time," said Arnold.

She sayscyclists should notify the city if they come across any dangerous sections of bike lane.

City staff have been instructed on the importance of clean bike lanes, Arnold added.