Manor Park bike bus: a mighty crew!

Two weeks ago, I got to ride with a mighty little group of kids from Dunbarton area to Manor Park Public School. It was a joyful and illuminating experience.

Bike buses were born out of a desire to help kids ride to school. They bring safety in numbers and open the door to making this a permanent habit.

The Manor Park bike bus comes with a mix of challenges and opportunities. The distance to school is short, and the ride starts on quiet neighbourhood streets. The challenge is, the Beechwood cemetery stands in the way. To bike to school, you have to ride on two major streets: Saint-Laurent and Hemlock.

Map showing the route the Manor Park bike bus took. — Manor Park bike bus route

That didn’t deter our young friends from enjoying the ride. We had keeners!

After listening to bike bus leader Ashley for instructions, the group got rolling to the sound of music. A great way to get moving.

One adult on a bike with three children biking and one on a scooter rolling on a neighbourhood street — Manor Park bike bus rolling on a neighbourhood street

Then came the time to roll on major streets. A great opportunity to practice listening and following instructions. First opportunity: moving over to a turning lane before turning left on Saint-Laurent. Everybody did great.

Two adults and three kids waiting at a stop line in a left turning lane for green light. Traffic moving in the background on Saint-Laurent. — Bike bus crew waiting at the stop line, listening to leader’s instructions

First challenge: getting through the intersection, on a slight uphill, on a short light cycle that’s clearly planned for cars. We made it through as a group before Saint-Laurent traffic got a green.

One adult and two kids on bikes turning left on a main street.

Second challenge: rolling down Saint-Laurent on a painted bike lane with rush hour traffic right beside us. Our young riders did really well and stayed single file all the way, listening carefully to instructions.

Bike bus rolling down Saint-Laurent single file in a painted bike lane. — Single file on Saint-Laurent

Last challenge: turning from Saint-Laurent to Hemlock. There is a left turning lane for cars, which is simply not an option. And there’s a green bike box on Hemlock, East of Saint-Laurent, where one can stop in order to go West on Hemlock.

Bike bus crew starting to turn left onto Hemlock. There’s a car to their left at a safe enough distance. To their right, in the background, one can see a green bike box on the adjacent street. — Turning left onto Hemlock (green bike box visible to the right)

Seize the opportunity! We took the right car lane (straight and right-turning arrow) and turned with traffic on the outside of cars, with one adult blocking the lane to protect our young riders. This made for a seamless turn as we took advantage of the downhill. (The bike box would have meant stopping at the red light and starting again on a slight uphill. We were riding at our young ones’ speed as it were, and wanted to hit the school in due course.)

Bike bus crew turning left. One adult is leading, another adult protecting them on the outside and photographer is shielding on the inside of the group. — Turning left onto Hemlock

Drivers were careful and patient around us, which was nice to see. We made it through the intersection safely.

Bike bus leader and one child arriving at school. — Arriving at Manor Park Public School

Everybody got back in single file on Hemlock. Our young friends negotiated the short stretch without a bike lane and the painted bike lane like champs. They dashed to the finish line and got treated to mini donuts. It was someone’s birthday after all.

Bike bus group with their thumbs up. Some kids are still eating their donuts. — Mission accomplished!

Overall a great ride. Bike bus leader Ashley was well prepared. Kids did great, enjoyed themselves and showed you can totally ride to school with good planning. I hope this is the first of many bike bus rides to Manor Park Public School.