Latest news with #bikepath
The Independent
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Claws are out in small town Massachusetts after a cat mayoral election race was hijacked by other animals
Talk about copy- cats. A race to elect the newest bike path cat mayor in Somerville, Massachusetts, has been hijacked by an array of other animals – including a parrot, guinea pig, snake and tortoise. Several ferocious felines, including incumbent cat mayor Berry, had been campaigning for the fictitious role of 'Bike Path Mayor' when posters for other pets to fill the role began popping up in the Boston suburb. The highly contested race began after Berry's owner, Mallory Bisset, placed a humorous poster declaring her indoor-outdoor cat the 'Bike Path Mayor' as a way to let passersby know she isn't a stray, just a cat that loves to spend time on the trail, NBC 10 reported. Then Noah's Ark opened... Claws quickly came out as a furry competitor, 'Orange Cat,' began campaigning for the role as well. 'Berry became mayor of Somerville without an election, and I thought that was bologna,' said Orange Cat's owner, Janet McNamara. 'Orange Cat stands for fair and free elections.' Both Berry and Orange Cat frequently stroll along the bike trail and are known and loved amongst residents. "The original race, we have photo evidence all over the Somerville Discord, was Orange Cat vs Berry, who is the incumbent," one resident said. "I see Berry all the time, Orange Cat almost as much. And then other candidates started coming in, and then Berry's sign was stolen." Signs for Berry, who is running along the TabbyCat Party, later reappeared with a promise to 'Make Cats Outside Again.' Meanwhile, Orange Cat's campaign has been 'paid for by the catalyst party,' according to signs. While Berry and Orange Cat appear to be the frontrunners among locals, dozens of other cats have since entered the race, each with their own slogan and campaign platform. Pirate is running on 'More Kibble For All,' while Puzzle has taken a pro catnap position. Freya is running on the 'Com-meow-nist Party' and advocating for 'Frisky's South 4 All.' Another favorite in the race, Minerva, is simply running on 'Crime.' The cat quickly got out of the bag, and a slew of other animals have since entered the race. A dog duo, Duke and Ella, entered on a shared ticket with the tagline, 'You got anyone betta?' While only a few dogs are on the ballot, McNamara said it would be 'ridiculous' for a dog to be elected mayor of the bike path. As of Thursday, the race opened up to even more exotic animals, including a parrot named Timber, a guinea pig named Ms. Potato, a snake, aptly named Large Snake, and a tortoise named Nagi. 'I'm a big fan of Nagi the tortoise. I think his age and experience is good,' local voter Gabe Smith told NBC10. 'You know, diversity in a campaign is probably good,' added Somerville resident Valerie Folan. While there are countless cat-idates, many residents seemed to stand behind the incumbent, Berry. 'I am a little partial to Berry, because she has held a town hall in our garden a few months ago, so I think I'm just waiting to see if other candidates are going to speak up more,' said resident Andrea Wen, who frequently walks the trail. Given the competitive nature of the race, some pets have decided to throw their hat in for other governmental positions. Wasil the cat is running for attorney general while Whiskers, also a cat, hopes to be elected as chief of staff. A QR code is displayed on the bike path for people to cast their votes. According to the form, a winner will be announced on September 5.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Road construction shifts gears for Sioux Falls bike shop
SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — Construction on the Interstate 229 interchange in Sioux Falls means plenty of detours for drivers taking South Cliff Avenue, which is now closed. But people on two-wheels are finding an alternate route — on the bike path. Elliot Flaa and his 4-year-old son Elias made a pit stop at Spoke-N-Sport after the chain came off Elias' bicycle while riding the bike trail. Construction affects Sioux Falls city parks 'We thought we'd hop by and get the chain fixed. It's all ready to go and now we're ready to hit the bike trail again,' Flaa said. Spoke-N-Sport says business has remained steady despite Cliff Avenue being closed just down the road from the bike shop. 'It's ebbed and flowed. The day that they shut down the underpass, we were actually very busy. We do get a lot of traffic from the bike trail itself,' Spoke-N-Sport Service Manager Isaac Kaske said. Sometimes the road construction itself has led to new ride-up traffic here at Spoke-N-Sport. 'Especially when they had the mats down for the construction. People were getting flats on that, a lot. So, kind of convenient: if you're going to get get a flat, at least it's right outside of a bike shop. We were probably doing 10 flats a day, just from that,' Kaske said. Flaa prefers the bike path as a way to avoid construction-related congestion on the roads. 'It's just good exercise, good bonding time with the kids and I don't have to worry about all the lights and construction paths I gotta go through,' Flaa said. This is the busiest time of year for bike shops and the first full year of Spoke-N-Sport's expansion. So the staff will be looking forward to when Cliff Avenue reopens to traffic in another couple of months. 'Come buy an e-bike. Come buy a bike. Get out there. It's going to be a beautiful summer,' Kaske said. Kaske says Spoke-N-Sport gets between 10-15 calls a day from customers asking how to get to the shop. He tells callers that it all depends on where they're coming from. Camp Leif Ericson is back in session for the summer Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
07-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Sherbrooke, Que., faces growing pains as it looks to expand its cycling network
On her daily rides through Sherbrooke, Que., Laurence Williams often finds herself cruising along a bike path — until it suddenly comes to an end. A self-described "utilitarian cyclist," who uses her bicycle for all her transportation needs, Williams says it's possible to get around the city by bike. But it's not always easy. "Sometimes you have a beginning of a bike path and then it just stops," Williams says, adding that this kind of interruption is common on the cycling network in the city, located 150 kilometres east of Montreal. Aside from being inconvenient to someone who is looking for the fastest route to a given destination, Williams feels that the variability in what kinds of infrastructure exist for cyclists also makes her commutes more dangerous, because it is harder to know what is coming up around the next corner. "When you use your bike on a day-to-day basis, you want your route to be quick, to be safe and predictable," she says. Williams argues that in a city like Sherbrooke where there appears to be political will for bike and environmentally friendly initiatives, she expects it to be easier to make progress. "In a context where ecological transition has been mentioned as a priority for the City of Sherbrooke and a context where more than 50 per cent of our citywide greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to transportation, we really need to go faster." 'A big challenge' for the city In May, Sherbrooke highlighted 16 areas where expansions to the cycling network have been planned. Over the next three years, the hope is to bridge a number of significant gaps in the existing system. According to Anne-Sophie Demers, a division chief for sustainable and integrated mobility with Sherbrooke's Strategic Territorial Development Service, the goal of these priority areas is to improve the connectivity between different parts of the network. "It is a big challenge for our team because the context and situation is never the same," Demers says. Demers and her team have been charged with trying to determine how best to implement safe and functional bike paths on existing roads without disrupting the needs of existing traffic. It is an urban planning puzzle, she said, because some roads are simply not large enough to accommodate both drivers and cyclists on fully protected bike lanes. Despite those difficulties, Demers says that the city has been in conversation with local cycling groups to try to find the best options available in the hopes that a more secure cycling network will open the door to more cyclists. The city is also trying to improve access to bikes in other ways. Demers notes that there is currently work underway for the installation of Bixi bike-sharing stations similar to the system that has been in place in Montreal for more than a decade "We think it has the potential to transform mobility in Sherbrooke." The initial Bixi system in Sherbrooke is expected to have 250 bicycles at 25 stations, with 80 per cent of the fleet being e-bikes. Although no official start date has yet been announced, Demers says the system should be operational by July. A city with a lot of potential "The arrival of e-bikes has literally changed the landscape of who's able to cycle," says Magali Bebronne, director of programs at Vélo Québec. The cycling advocacy group is one of the parties Demers's team has turned to for support and data in its planning process. Vélo Québec conducts regular research into the state of bicycle adoption in several different Quebec cities, including Sherbrooke. For a city as hilly as Sherbrooke, Bebronne says bikes equipped with an electric motor are a game changer for cycling accessibility. That, combined with the known benefits of public-access bicycle programs like Bixi, creates an interesting opportunity for increased adoption of cycling as a way of getting around in the city. Vélo Québec also publishes a portrait of cycling in the province every five years and, although the 2020 report was carried out in unusual circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, research showed that just over half of all Quebecers were using a bicycle and 2.1 million people were using one as a regular mode of transportation. Bebronne says the group is currently in the process of preparing the 2025 edition. Bebronne also challenges the idea that using bikes in this way is uniquely a "big city" phenomenon. "In smaller cities, people actually live closer to where they work," Bebronne explains, noting that Vélo Québec's last study of Sherbrooke showed that about 44 per cent of the population live within five kilometres of their work.
