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Regina city councillor Bob Hawkins' wish for bike helmets to be mandatory in the city could soon come true.Hawkins proposal for city administration to draft a bylaw for mandatory bike helmets received majority support at the Community and Protective Services committee meeting Wednesday.The draft will go before council at the end of the month.The suggested fine for the bylaw infraction is $29, which is about the cost of a bike helmet, according to Hawkins. He said he doesn't expect the fine to levied very often, if ever. The bylaw is an education tool, not an enforcement tool, Hawkins said."Well there's all kinds of ways to improve safety for cyclists and they're important, but I don't think there's anything more important than having cyclists wear helmets and protect their brains and their heads," Hawkins said.Brandon Wright with Bike Regina says otherwise. "Engineered controls that removed the hazard or mitigate the hazard [would help]," Wright said."Examples of that are infrastructure, but not personal protective equipment like a helmet. That's the least effective control for improved safety."A 2015 study done by the University of British Columbia found that, "helmet legislation was not associated with reduced hospitalisation rates for brain, head, scalp, skull or face injuries, indicating that factors other than helmet laws have more influence on injury rates."Wright wears a helmet when he cycles and said Bike Regina encourages people to do so as well. But the mandatory nature of this potential bylaw discourages new, would-be, casual and underprivileged cyclists, because it gives a certain perception that cycling is inherently dangerous, Wright said. "Even if it's not enforced, as Hawkins himself is speculating, ... it then just becomes a tool for police or car-dominant road users to shame cyclists," he said. Hawkins made the point that if someone were to be catastrophically injured in a bike accident, the healthcare costs for that person go up. "This is no different than seatbelt laws. If you're going to engage in an activity which poses danger, you have a responsibility to protect yourself as best you can," he said. "I can't think of one reason why this bylaw is a bad idea. Some people have said that it would cause drivers to drive more recklessly. I think that's insane."Hawkins also said he wants people to ride bikes in the city and he thinks it's important more people do so.