A St. John’s man is hoping to see the city step up to make roads safer for cyclists.
Luke Quinton and his young daughter were recently enjoying a bicycle ride through Government Grounds, but things took a frightening turn when they exited the gates and ventured out onto city streets.
Quinton says he and his toddler were involved in a collision with a Metrobus while his daughter was on the back in a bucket seat. He was headed down Military Road signaling to turn left onto Cochrane Street when the bus scraped up alongside of him. He says the bus was trying to pass him.
Quinton says he and his daughter are very lucky and that both he and his daughter are ok. He did get a rubber-like burn with plastic embedded in his arm as well as some scratches and bleeding, but his daughter was untouched. He says if they were six inches to the right, their lives would have been changed forever.
Quinton says the city needs a driving network that separates cyclists and drivers, similar to Montreal. Quinton, an avid cyclist, says he hasn’t been on his bike since.
That means making space for *separated* *bike* *lanes* … I've been calling for a separated bike lane on Military/Harvey/Lemarchant ever since I moved back and saw it on the city-funded draft cycling map. How ironic that I was mashed by a city bus on that very street.
— Luke Quinton (@LukeQuinton) July 16, 2021
He says both Metrobus officials and the RNC were on the scene after the incident and that that the RNC may issue a ticket for improper passing, but that’s about it.
Quinton says Metrobus does have video footage from the incident, but he hasn’t seen it.
VOCM News has reached out to Metrobus General Manager Judy Powell who says she is unable to comment at this time, except to say Metrobus is conducting an investigation into the incident.
