Kelowna

Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna cycling coalition reminds commuters who travel on two wheels to make sure to have adequate lighting for the darker days of fall.

Get your lights on! is the slogan of the Kelowna Area Cycling Coalition’s first annual campaign, aimed at lighting up Okanagan bicycles in the dark.

“As the days grow shorter, this is a good time to make sure you have proper, working lights on your bicycle,” the coalition states on its campaign poster.

Coalition director John Scott says one of the best measures cyclists can take in order to stay safe on the streets is to be visible. “Adequate lighting and reflective or bright clothing and following the rules of the road can help you stay safe on the streets.”

The coalition reports that there are some riders who still ride at night without lights and other riders who travel during the early morning and evening hours without adequate head- or tail-lights.

City of Kelowna bylaw requires adequate lighting on bikes in order for a person to ride on highways between sunset and sunrise.

“It is especially important for commuters coming into town from West Kelowna or heading to UBC early in the morning to consider their marginal visibility in the early morning, as cars are approaching their rear at speeds up to 100 km/h,” Scott says.

Scott, who came up with the campaign idea after noticing poorly lit cyclists on his commute from West Kelowna to Penticton, estimates that three to four per cent of Kelowna’s population cycle to work or school. 

"As a comparator to Canada, the German and UK commuting mode shares are about 10 per cent and in the Netherlands, about 27 per cent.

In addition to posters, the campaign will make use of an awareness video, to be posted on the coalition’s website soon.