November 16, 2010
By CBC News
Motorists are going to have to make more room for bicycle riders on roads in Nova Scotia.
Motorists are going to have to make more room for bicycle riders on roads in Nova Scotia.
The Department of Transportation is proposing to change the Motor Vehicle Act to make sure there is at least a metre between each vehicle passing a bicycle.
The push to get car drivers to share the roads began earlier this month with a private member's bill from Dartmouth East Liberal MLA Andrew Younger.
On Monday, Transportation Minister Bill Estabrooks announced he's' making changes to provincial legislation.
The new rules would require motorists to make room when they pass a cyclist in a bike lane, and also make it illegal to park in a bike lane.
Under the changes, bicyclists will have to ride single file and in the same direction as traffic.
Estabrooks admitted the design of some bicycle lanes in Halifax will make abiding by the law difficult. In some areas, cars are parked on the inside of the bicycle lane and cars drive on the outside, making it a tall order to find a metre of clear space.
"And that will continue to be an issue, but we are looking at it as mutual respect for each other based on common sense," he said.
Estabrooks said the penalties will be for violating the new rules are still being worked out.
Nova Scotia is the first province in Canada to bring in the one-metre rule, but 15 states in the United States have similar laws.
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