The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 13 ,2 02 2 | 12 oakville.ca Hydro Line Clearing Tree pruning near hydro lines begins this January in east Oakville (zone 4) Each year, the town and its tree service contractor perform hydro line clearing on behalf of Oakville Hydro to reduce safety hazards and power outages. The 2022 hydro line clearing program will take place in east Oakville, between Chartwell Road and Winston Churchill Boulevard and Trafalgar Road to Ninth Line. Trees are pruned in each of four zones on a four- year cycle and follow the Electrical Safety Authority guidelines to maintain a three-metre (10 foot) clearance between branches and primary power lines and one- metre (three feet) for secondary lines. As a last resort, some trees growing too close to the hydro line may need to be removed if the arborist cannot achieve the clearance standard with acceptable pruning practices. In some situations, the townmust prune trees on private property if they are growing too close to hydro lines. In cases where hydro lines are located in rear yards, Oakville Hydro has an easement through the property which allows the arborist to access the tree. For more information and to track the progress of the Hydro Line Clearing program visit oakville.ca. One day, Vicki Tran, Sheridan Bike Hub's cy- cling co-ordinator, decided that she should bike to work wearing a dress. She had not intended for the experience to turn into a social experiment, but the results were eye-open- ing for her. Back then, as well as now, she biked to work reg- ularly. But she noticed that this time drivers were far ruder to her than at any other time. "My commute was like 10 minutes tops and on my ride to work ... Ten minutes tops ... I got honked at three times," Vicki said. She says she al- so received shouts from the windows of cars. "On other days when I'm dressed (differently), I haven't received as many honks." For Tran, who has often cycled to Sheridan's Trafalgar campus from her Mississauga home, making the road safe for women cy- clists makes it safe for ev- eryone. "If I see a lot of families, a lot of children out and a lot of women riding ... a lot of men ... Just a lot of people riding in general, I think it would just overall switch to that biking culture," she said. "Mississauga or wher- ever you're living, Oakville, is a much more friendly ar- ea for people to bike when it's not just leisurely and (people are riding) on a day-to-day basis." A study of cycling beha- viours in 17 countries, in- cluding in Canada, con- cluded that making cycling safe for women, essentially, makes it safe for everyone. "To achieve re- presentation across differ- ent age and gender groups, making neighbourhoods cycling friendly and devel- oping safer routes to school, should be equally high on the agenda as cy- cling corridors that often cater to commuting traf- fic," the study says. The study found a "strong positive associa- tion" between the re- presentation of women and the level of cycling. It found that in municipalities where seven per cent or more people cycled, women made as many trips on a bike as men, if not more. The obverse was true as well. In municipalities where less than seven per cent of people biked, far fewer trips were made by women. "These findings imply that, in low-cycling cities, developing cycling infra- structure to meet the ob- served demand (e.g. mid- dle-aged men commuting to work) may perpetuate gender and age inequali- ties. It is therefore impor- tant that evaluations of cy- cling policies should not only focus on overall use but also usage by gender and age, to ensure equita- ble growth in cycling." The article does not try to make any guesses about why this phenomenon hap- pens. But it does point to differences in risk toler- ance among women, older adults and children com- pared to men. The report also says that "women use cycling for non-commute purposes relatively more than do men." "The gender division of household labour may af- fect cycling levels," it adds. While Tran does not make as many trips to Oak- ville as before thanks to COVID-19, she has named a few problem areas in the town for cycling. "The main concern that we have is the lack of safe connections to get over to Oakville," she said. "The highway crossing at Dundas (over Highway 403) is kind of sketchy be- cause it's the highway where everyone's trying to transition to get in or out." It is a similar story for her in the Winston Park Drive and Upper Middle Road ar- ea. Leigh McGrath, a regis- tered professional planner with Urban Strategies Inc., said the missing element is universality. "It's really about designing, for uni- versal accessibility and for universal use." "What we know, you know, from just anecdotal- ly experience in the city is when you make things more accessible or more user-friendly for one popu- lation, everyone benefits," she added. When asked about whether the Town of Oak- ville has conducted any studies of cycling habits based on gender, a spokes- person said, "The Town has not conducted any studies related specifically to gen- der and cycling." MAKING CYCLING SAFE FOR EVERYONE MEANS MAKING IT SAFE FOR WOMEN Vicki Tran, head of the Sheridan Bicycle Hub, adjusts her front brake while doing routine maintenance before heading out for a ride. Graham Paine/Metroland MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com NEWS