Beauty and safety enhancements for Ouellette Ave. from Wyandotte St. to Elliott St. have been approved, but without bike lanes.
The city says bike lanes on Ouellette were considered, but wouldn't connect to any other bike route, and the move is to better connect that stretch to the rest of the downtown.
Lori Newton of Bike Windsor Essex is disappointed there are no bike lanes in the $5.6-million improvement plan.
"It will be beautiful but I wonder if people will come to the cafes when they can't come on their bike," she says.
Upgrades to Ouellette include reducing the street to one lane each way, on-street parking, and wider sidewalks with trees.
Work should start in August and take about a year to complete.
Newton says she's puzzled the city isn't incorporating bike lanes downtown.
"They've decided that large patios and public spaces for walk-ability trumped it," says Newton.
Newton says other cities across Canada, the US and the rest of the world are adding bike infrastructure to their downtowns.
"For Windsor to say on our big wide streets that we don't have room for cycling infrastructure -- I think not," she says.
