Bill 93 amendment to NS Motor Vehicle Act

Middleton to Kentville Relay- Tuesday, May 25
Relayers: Terri Aker (Fall River) and Gary Bustin (Greenwich)- both members of the Centennial Cycling Club out of Wolfville.

We began our Bill 93 journey at Bruce Chev Buick GMC in Middleton on the morning of Tuesday, May 24. Terry Murphy, who rode the Annapolis to Middleton leg, dropped the baton off at the dealership for safe keeping until our arrival. At 10 am we enjoyed a warm welcome at Town Hall, Middleton with Mayor Calvin Eddy present along with councilors Marc Britney (cyclist and Heart of the Valley Century planner/participant extraordinaire), Dan Smith, some town recreation staff along with a member of the local RCMP. After a quick meet and greet and a discussion about the “Bill” Mayor Eddy officially launched our relay by presenting the baton to us and sent us cycling through the streets of Middleton with an RCMP escort. Marc Britney joined the ride for the escort through town. It was a very proud moment for all of us and we were basking in all it’s glory:)

Our ride continued from Middleton to Berwick through peaceful scenic back country roads leaving a slight drizzle of rain behind us as we navigated the most amazing route planned to perfection and detail by cycling partner Gary Bustin.

Our next stop along the way, aside from a few fantastic photo ‘ops’ that were hard to resist and a spectacular lunch at the Union Street Café in Berwick was the Berwick Town Hall. There we enjoyed another great reception with Mayor John Prall, councillor and cyclist Mike Trinacty, RCMP constable MacLeod, Bob Ashley (Chief Administrative Officer for Berwick/ Centennial Cycling Club member) and Transcontinental journalist/reporter Kirk Starratt of the Kings County Advertiser. After some good “Bill” discussion and a few round of paparazzi photos Mayor Prall sent us off through Berwick with another RCMP escort accompanied by Councillor Mike Trinacty on his road bike. There was lots of buzz through the town with a lot of traffic and people around. Even the road construction crew were advised to stop traffic in both directions in order for us to have our moment of Bill 93 glory once again.

Gary and I then rode on to Kentville. The sun hiding graciously behind a nice light cloud. The winds were gentle/warm on us making for a sweet average speed keeping us right on schedule. Gary’s gps frantically resisted our urge to change up our routes to make it all last longer. We arrived in Kentville around 3 pm and took a few relaxing minutes to veg at Café Central before our scheduled interview with the Kings County Advertiser in New Minas.

Our leg was officially completed around 5 pm......what an incredible day!!! Over before we knew it but worth a million pedal strokes!

It was so important for us to grasp every opportunity we could to spread the "Bill 93" Share the Road Responsibly” message to crucial connections along the way so the journey would be more then just riding a leg of the relay. We made the extra efforts to brand ourselves in spectacular Nova Scotia cycling jerseys from Valley Stove and Cycle (Wolfville) and wore the Bill 93 relay bib on our backs so that we visually delivered the message as well. I believe our mission was accomplished beyond our expectations. Thanks to all those folks along our route that went above and beyond for us in every way.

To sum it up...We had a blast and we enjoyed meeting all of you!

Terri Aker and Gary Bustin

We'll end with a quote from Ernest Hemingway-

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."

Condensed Version of Bill 93

• Motorists are required to leave a minimum of 1m between their vehicle and a cyclist while passing.
• Motor vehicles may cross the centre line in order to pass a cyclist, when safe to do so.
• Cyclists are to ride on the right side of the road in the direction of traffic, but may move towards the centre of the lane when safer in order to avoid hazards or maintain a regular traffic flow -including when riding through a roundabout, turning left, or passing another vehicle.
• Motor vehicles may not be parked in a bike lane, or drive in a bike lane except to avoid a hazard or to pass a left turning vehicle (then the passing car must yield to cyclists in the bike lane).
• Cyclists are to use bike lanes if present on their route and it is safe to do so (i.e. free of hazards etc..)
• Cyclists may pass on the right of stopped motor vehicles, if safe to do so.

Introduced as a Government Bill, Bill 93 was passed in slightly amended form by all members of the Legislature and is scheduled to be proclaimed law in early June, 2011.