Hundreds gather to honour Saskatoon cyclist who lost her life in collision

Hundreds of cyclists gathered at the University of Saskatchewan Wednesday afternoon for a memorial ride to honour the life of 33-year-old Natasha Fox.

Fox, a teacher, mother and accomplished athlete, was killed last week in a collision with a cement truck while she was riding her bike at the intersection of College Drive and Wiggins Avenue.

The memorial ride went through Saskatoon’s river valley, starting at the University of Saskatchewan and ending at President Murray Park, where a moment of silence was held in Fox’s honour.

The events of last week hit close to home for cyclist Megan Daschner.

“My first thought was, ‘It could’ve been me,'” Daschner said.

Daschner didn’t know Fox personally, but said they had connections through her kids.

Fox’s death sparked calls for change on Saskatoon’s streets from many cyclists at the memorial.

(Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)

Daschner described what it’s like for her when cycling in the city.

“I bike to work every day, and I like to bike with my kids, and often we don’t feel safe,” she said.

“There’s no infrastructure, and I want to feel safe biking to work, and I want to know that my kids can commute in this city without getting in an accident or getting hurt.”

Priscilla Sader is also an active biker in Saskatoon. She said she’s had a couple close calls with vehicles on the road, including one involving a truck a few years ago.

“I was almost hit by a huge truck on the shared pathway coming down Preston Avenue. It did not slow down (or) signal. I was on the pathway and I could feel the wind of it. I phoned the company and the city, and never heard back,” she explained. “I’ve had many close calls.”

Sader also called for better cycling infrastructure in the wake of Fox’s death.

“I felt horrible about this. I think we need bike pathways.” Sader stated.

“We’ve been in the Netherlands, and they’ll have one path for cars and the other path for bicycles. Everyone who is on the bike always has the right of way.

“We always try to go on the shared pathways if we can, because we don’t feel safe otherwise,” she added.

Her comments were echoed by Vi Mizuno, who said he typically rides his bike on Mondays with a group of people older than 55.

“We try to do the trails in the city instead of the main roads, because it’s too dangerous to be on the main roads,” Mizuno explained.

“I’d like to see more dedicated trails, on the main roads especially. A real dedicated lane to get to downtown and the Meewasin trails would be nice.”