A year after cyclist’s death, his widow urges city to make Pembina safe

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2015 (3765 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:4292658817001:wfpvideo

Nothing has been done to make Pembina Highway safer in the area where a cyclist was fatally hit last year, his widow says.

“All you have to do is listen to the cyclists who say this is a… dangerous spot, with a high traffic of students, cyclists and pedestrians, and that needs to be addressed. We don’t want another person dying,” Maria Stevenson said.

Her husband Richard Stevenson was hit while trying to turn left onto University Crescent on his way to the stadium last June.

She implored Mayor Brian Bowman and the city to explain what they have done to prevent another accident.

“You’ve had plenty of time to look at the situation, plenty of time to look at your budget. What have you done in a year?” she asked.

Stevenson set out on his bicycle on June 9, 2014, heading down Pembina Highway to catch a preseason Blue Bombers game.

The 69-year-old season-ticket holder never made it to the game.

As Stevenson crossed Pembina Highway to get to the stadium, a car struck him, sending him to hospital. He died the next day.

He left behind his wife of 43 years, Maria, and a 25-year-old daughter, Terra.

At the time, Stevenson’s death galvanized the community to call for increased safety measures around the stadium.

His widow said no steps have been taken near Bishop Grandin Boulevard to protect cyclists.

Since the incident, the city has added signage for southbound cyclists to direct them to the “stadium route” away from Pembina Highway and towards the bicycle paths at the Fort Garry Bridge.

The city has also budgeted $1.3 million for an active-transportation route along Chancellor Matheson Road.

However, the 500-metre stretch from Plaza Drive and University Crescent where Stevenson was struck, — which is free of construction this year — remains untouched. The city has no plan to build a bike path.

Bowman, who wasn’t mayor at the time of Stevenson’s death, expressed his condolences but didn’t promise any direct action.

“That was a horrible thing to have seen in our city last year, as you know we are making active transportation something we are spending time and resources on,” he said.

A city spokeswoman said last week they could not accommodate an interview with the city’s active transportation director Kevin Nixon.

The city’s 20-year cycling strategy, which has not yet been adopted by council, calls for buffered bicycle lanes to be extended on Pembina Highway and recommends a new road crossing for cyclists at the Bishop Grandin Boulevard overpass.

Stephenson wants a number of measures adopted, including reducing the speed on that stretch of Pembina Highway to 40 km/h, better signage warning motorists to watch for cyclists, a safe crossing for cyclists and a bike lane on the overpass that leads cyclists to University Crescent.

She said a bike path would have saved her husband’s life, and she wants to see it named after him.

“His legacy would be for it to be named Richard Stevenson Way because everyone would see that and they would know that his death was not in vain,” she said.

Richard Stevenson, whose friends called him “Dick,” was adventurous. As well as being an active cyclist, he rode a motorcycle, and his widow said he would try “any type of sport.”

Age didn’t slow him down, and he continued cycling to and from his job at the Piston Ring autobody shop on Pembina Highway.

“Even when he had hip surgery, he was still waterskiing. Nothing made him afraid. He was up for any challenge (and) he was active right until that last moment,” she said.

His sense of adventure sent him cycling across the city, following the rules and wearing a helmet, but unafraid to take routes less experienced cyclists would avoid.

His ashes are in an urn, with the hat of his beloved team, the Blue Bombers, sitting on top.

Stevenson said she taps it to say hello every time she walks by.

For cyclists who ride on Pembina Highway every day in the summer, Maria wants to see immediate action.

“Prevent another death from happening. If you want to promote a culture of cycling, then show it.

“You want us to be on bikes and if this area is a hot spot, do something. It is not only students that are affected, it is spectators, ticket holders, no more excuses.”

 Read more about this treacherous stretch of Pembina Highway here.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca

Here is a map of cycling problem spots in Winnipeg, as submitted by readers. Want to contribute? You can send us details of problem spots here.