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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The parents of the late Josh Hardy had some help Monday night in their push to have city council enact a helmet bylaw for all "self-propelled" vehicle drivers in the city.

Ed Hardy and his wife Jackie Hardy address council Monday night in hopes of getting a helmet bylaw on the books. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

They were among eight presenters who spoke to the proposal - the third time council has heard such a request since 2002.

Hardy, 18, died after suffering a head injury while riding a longboard - a type of skateboard - on the McMahon Frame Lake Trail on July 23 of last year.

The public gallery was almost full during presentations, almost all of them in support of the initiative, including parents Ed and Jackie Hardy. The Hardys told council that it is important to have a bylaw because if Josh had been wearing a helmet, he would still be alive.

"There are currently bylaws for all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles within the city, why not one for self-propelled modes of transportation such as bikes or skateboards or scooters," said Jackie, comparing the current situation to the state that existed before the enactment of seatbelt laws, which took time for people to get used to.

Coun. Niels Konge, who has said he would support the bylaw if other councillors backed it, was concerned that if a bylaw were passed, it would be difficult to cover everything head-trauma related.

He said he is worried more about the dangers to young children on the sliding hill, which he doesn't think is being addressed.

"I think that if we are going to look at a bylaw, that it shouldn't be reactionary, and sorry if it offends you, but I think it is coming forward as a reactionary thing," he said.

"If we use your tragedy, I think we have to make sure it is all-encompassing."

Ed Hardy insisted their effort isn't reactionary and that it was council's duty to protect the well-being and safety of citizens. He said it was the "third strike" for council, referring to the two other attempts over the past decade to get council to pass a bylaw.

"Each one of us as a parent, a cyclist, each one of us has a responsibility with education and a bylaw and we will do it together," he said. "It takes all of those components and you have one of those components (the bylaw). We have groups here who will do the education. If we all put our little pieces in, it will amount to something. At the end we will see (results) by not seeing the numbers of injuries."

The only dissident speaker was resident Jeff Gardiner, who said it didn't make sense to have a bylaw because it would be hard to enforce and a number of other major cities worldwide like Copenhagen and Amsterdam have no bike bylaws.

"Do we really want to spend our limited municipal enforcement resources chasing skateboarders and cyclists?" he asked, during his presentation.

"The tragic death of a young skateboarder is what it is, a very tragic accident, and I empathize deeply with the Hardy family in their loss but I do not believe that legislating helmet use for cyclists is an answer for our community when greater awareness, training and teaching personal responsibility may be a better approach."

Others, however, felt that having a bylaw would improve safety for cyclists and reduce head injuries.

Dr. David Pontin, an emergency room physician and president of the NWT Medical Association, said a helmet bylaw should be part of an overall "culture around the safety of biking," with more bike lanes, pathways and educational promotions included. He said helmet bylaws tend to increase the use of helmets and reduce the risk of head injuries.

He said many of the academic studies which argue that helmet bylaws reduce ridership are faulty. Other presenters included Susan Huvenaars, Reid Tait and May Ly of the St. Pat's Interact Club, which has a school initiative to improve bike helmet usage in town, Karman Walz, Mike Wynne, and Rita Deneron.

Mayor Mark Heyck said he expects the issue to be brought to a municipal services committee meeting in the near future where council will discuss it further.

A date has not been selected, however, council expects from those discussions administration may be asked to gather information on what the implications might be should the city implement a bylaw.

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