Hamilton cyclist was teaching her nephew about road safety. Then a car almost hit them

A Hamilton woman says more needs to be done to protect cyclists in the city after she was nearly struck by a car Friday.

Pascale Marchand and her 14-year-old nephew were cycling on John Street South just past Augusta Street around 7:45 p.m. July 22 when a blue hatchback narrowly flew past them and caused their bikes to slam into each other.

Had I been two inches to the left, it's definitely something I wouldn't have been able to speak about today," Marchand, 39, told The Spectator Monday.

The close call was captured on dashcam footage by another driver who posted the video to Twitter.

It shows Marchand and her nephew proceed through the John and Augusta intersection - where there is no bike lane - after a set of traffic lights turned green. A city truck was to Marchand's left as she looked over her shoulder to take the right lane.

It's so narrow there and I knew that to protect myself, I needed to take the lane and make sure no one tried to squeeze past us because there's not enough room."

Despite the small sliver of space, the blue hatchback accelerated and whizzed past Marchand, causing her to lose control.

I tried to just dive out of the way because the car was coming so fast," she said. I ended up hitting the sidewalk and then my nephew came up from behind and hit me.

The car kept driving. They didn't stop."

Marchand, who is running to become Ward 4 councillor this fall, hadn't seen her New Brunswick-based nephew for more than two years before Friday. Ironically, she spent the afternoon giving him tips about road safety and cycling in an urban and compact city like Hamilton.

In New Brunswick, the main mode of transportation is cars because everything there is so spread out," she said. So our entire ride was about the safety of cycling and what riders can do.

Unfortunately, it ended up being a very dramatic way to prove a point about how you need to ride defensively and safely, and always look out for yourself."

The near hit Friday comes as council adopts a new guide to build safer streets amid a spike in pedestrian deaths on city roads this year.

For Marchand, that change is needed - and quickly.

The studies have been done: complete streets are a very efficient way to protect pedestrians and cyclists. Streets need to be focused on people, not vehicles," she said. All we need is the political will to make it happen."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com