'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
31Great to see the mayor change their mind and order bike lane plowing! As I pointed out earlier, bike lanes aren’t just for a handful of winter cyclists—thousands of disabled and elderly people rely on them as vital, accessible routes every day.Under Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), mobility aids like power wheelchairs and scooters are legally allowed in bike lanes. The Ontario Human Rights Code protects this access, making it discriminatory to block these lanes.So when you hear “only 6 cyclists in winter,” know that bike lanes serve thousands who need safe, clear paths to travel independently. Plowing bike lanes isn’t a luxury—it’s a basic accessibility right and a step toward an inclusive city. Good on the Mayor, maybe you can call Sudbury mayor and change his mind. Or I might just move to Guelph.
21- Encino Man
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
33Happy to see this change. I'm still thinking about the man in the electric wheelchair stuck in a snowbank. These lanes are for the most vulnerable road users in Guelph and we owe it to them to keep them clear.Wish we could have done it without "strong mayor" powers though.
17- Matt Saunders
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
23We have sidewalks for that.
27- markie mark
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
29From cheerleader to leader. I applaud this move by the Mayor. Thank you to everyone who spoke out on this issue. Now giddy-up!
20- Two Riverss
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
2965 bike riders and a king....sounds like a movie, a comedy. What an abuse of power.
19- littlebill
Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
43I am shaking my head. $650,000. I'm all for cycling, even though I no longer do it, but I'm way more for keeping people warm and fed. Thank you for writing this.
5- Wanda Fabbian
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
37So what is the lesson? Speak and up be heard. One of the core ideals I tell everyone, the main reason the Guelph Indigenous Community Council was set up that came out of the meetings the city held. Speak up fellow citizens, Indigenous or not and don’t forget to vote.
8- ramos96
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
33Lane clearing would be less costly if those silly curb stop barriers were removed.
9- Brooks Wickett
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
34Get rid of the concrete barriers and replace them with painted bike lanes. Then the regular snow plowing and salting will clean the entire roadway, including the bike lanes. It will also remove the irritating and frankly, dangerous concrete barriers. They are designed for use in parking lots, not live lanes on city streets!
8- usr_671508
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
21Wasn’t the Mayor quoted as saying “just say no”. The easy decision is always to just spend more money. Total lack of leadership in all aspects of running the city.
19- markie mark
Guelph man builds tiny home in woods for his homeless father-in-law
38Thank you for caring for him. I hope that solution works out well for him.
1- Wendy (ex- nurse)
Guelph man builds tiny home in woods for his homeless father-in-law
32We can be very American and tear it down or we can be Canadian and help him survive. What's it going to be?
7- usr_672799
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Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
29Yep, plowing of bike lanes in our city is certainly not servicing the greater majority.In fact there is so little use of bicycles during winter compared to vehicles its laughable.Sure, you can say if the lanes were plowed more would use them. Simply not true.Shame on Guthrie for underhandedly changing the budget.
9- concerned Guelph
Name of new Guelph high school now official, but not everyone pleased
35It's a nice name... but has no context to this school location and neighbourhood. Were there no options that tied into it's Arkell geography?
2- Eric Allen Montgomery
Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
12Babe wake up, another Market Squared complaining about accessibility just dropped.Why do you keep pitting intersectional causes against each other? Active transportation, public transportation, and supports for people who are impacted by an affordability crisis all fall under the same umbrella of advocacy, and many people advocated or care about all 3 of these causes. It’s not cyclists’ faults we don’t have adequate shelters or public transportation, it’s provincial downloading of costs, and council’s decisions. Don’t blame your comrades who care about the same things you do.
24- Tay Caton
Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
29Absolutely ridiculous! A huge amount of money for a small number of people!
7- M4
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
20Sorry! That’s all you have to say? Sorry. What an embarrassment! 65 people changes your mind? Let’s get 75 and see if you’ll change it back. Can’t wait for you and your cronies to get out of town.
15- 1SPOOK
Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
27Good article . Only thing I differ on is that money should not be automatically sent to shelters but rather go through the city budget process. Then again, we have a king that can decide on a whim of what to do....and people complain about Trump being king!
8- littlebill
Council's bike lane flip flop costs us more than you think
29Further in a litany of proof that our elected municipal officials are fiscally incompetent and should all be voted out in the upcoming 2026 municipal elections lest we look back on the halcyon days of mere 8% annual property tax increases.
6- Royal City Rabble Rouser
'I am sorry': Mayor Guthrie backpedal, orders bike lanes plowed
13Electric bikes are treated as pedestrians and as such they should be using the sidewalks, which are cleared by the city. There is no reason whatsoever for them to be using a bike lane or as some of them do the roadway. These bike lanes are not for the most vulnerable. If you are going to make a case for bike lanes to be kept clear state the facts, not some tear jerking statement that is only meant to evoke an emotional response.
21- Fryant
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