More bike lanes will be developed and available over the next five years in Courtenay following an update to the Cycling Network Plan.
City council adopted the updated plan Wednesday. The city says highlights of the plan include:
- 23.4 lane-km construction projects of neighbourhood bikeways with speed reductions to 40 km/h
- 16.3 lane-km construction projects of buffered painted bike lanes
- 1.3 lane-km construction projects of painted parking protected bike lanes
- 13.8 lane-km of design projects including more than 11 lane-km of protected bike lanes
- 2 protected intersection design projects
- 1 pedestrian bridge design project
Numerous large projects are part of the plan, including a proposed 490 metre bridge to Fitzgerald Avenue, protected bike lanes on Fitzgerald Avenue between 8th and 26th streets and a protected intersection at 17th Street and Fitzgerald Avenue.
Over the next five years, this would mean the city would have over 66 km of cycling infrastructure, about 57 per cent of the ultimate network.
The estimated cost excluding projects that need further studying would be $1.63 million, or around $200,000 per year, with around $106,000 total for annual maintenance costs.
While some of the costs for projects that need more investigation is estimated to cost around $15 million, the city says planning ahead will allow them to get funding through grants. They say active transport initiatives have been supported by multiple grants, totalling $5.2 million so far.
Comox Valley Cycling Coalition president Mike Keohane says this is encouraging as more people want to get on bikes.
“There are a lot of different opinions about what should be built and right now there are a lot of barriers holding us back from building more protected or the less costly type of protected bike lanes,” said Keohane.
“That includes having the proper maintenance equipment to keep them clean and useable and allowing for snowploughing on the roads when the cars need to drive.”
The city says snow and ice control for protected bike lanes have been proposed. Keohane adds it is great to see council allocate funding to get more bike lanes built and wait for funding to tackle larger projects.
Councillors added providing more driver education will be a step to consider, concerning parking in bicycle lanes as they get implemented and as more people ride bicycles.
“I see so many cargo bikes out there now and to me that’s not just people out for a leisurely jaunt,” said councillor Wendy Morin.
“Those are people who are buying those bikes because they are using it as substitution for car travel and are using it for errands and carting around kids and everything else. I’m hoping that trend continues.”
