Rally for better bike safety blocks Winnipeg intersection

Protestors shut down the Maryland Bridge on Tuesday as they called for better bike safety.

A group of protestors blocked the intersection of Wellington Crescent and Academy Road on Tuesday evening, forcing drivers to turn around during rush hour.

The goal of the rally was to draw attention to the dangers of cycling, and call for additional protected bike lanes and paths around the city.

“The main message here is we need our politicians to have the will to make change,” said Patty Wiens, a director on the board of Bike Winnipeg.

“We’ve been asking for change for a long time. There’s a lot of us. A lot of people are choosing to ride their bikes for transportation.”

The intersection was chosen as the site of the protest as it’s close to where a cyclist was killed in June. It was also the location where a teen girl was struck earlier in the week.

“We wanted to protest this spot in particular because it’s only 900 metres from where Rob Jenner was killed 7.5 weeks ago,” Wiens said.

Wiens said as more and more people opt to ride their bikes, the city needs to find safe alternatives to prevent these cyclists from getting hurt.

- With files from CTV’s Taylor Brock and Jamie Dowsett.