Protected bike lanes on Dewitt Road scrapped
Council narrowly votes to abandoned curb-protected lanes in the face of resident opposition
Hamilton’s plan to fast-track more protected bike paths has hit a speed bump in Stoney Creek after council narrowly voted to scrap separated lanes on Dewitt Road in the face of resident opposition.
City council originally approved curb-protected bike lanes on the road — which hosts two schools — in 2022. It also signed off on a $60-million plan this year to more quickly add bike lanes that are physically separated from car traffic where possible.
But growing resident opposition — including letters to council and a petition — prompted ward Coun. Jeff Beattie to bring forward a “compromise” motion that will instead see the newly rebuilt road get bike lanes with a painted buffer zone, but no physical protection.
The road will now also get speed bumps and a new pedestrian crossing at the request of residents.
“This is in no way a motion against bike lanes,” Beattie said at Wednesday’s council meeting, while acknowledging the move could be “framed negatively” without context. He also noted the city’s 2018 bike master plan called for painted bike lanes on the road.
In an interview, Beattie said he hoped the new plan would still improve cycling safety on the road while addressing resident concerns. “The general sentiment of the community was that they would like the street to remain as is (without bike lanes),” he said.
“We’re trying to find that balance … to crawl before we walk, walk before we run,” he said, later noting the city could still add barriers in the future when eventual plans for bike lanes on Highway 8 and Barton Street move ahead.
The motion spurred plenty of debate at council — which ultimately voted 8-7 to scrap the concrete protection plan.
Mayor Andrea Horwath said she was worried the change represented a “downgrading” of the city’s cycling safety standards. “If something terrible happened, I would feel horrible,” she said.
Coun. Craig Cassar said he could not reconcile the “contradiction” of citizens opposing the protected lanes while simultaneously calling for measures to slow traffic.
In recent years, Hamilton has adopted Vision Zero collisionreduction principles in redesigning roads, including relying on studies that show narrowing streets — for example, by adding protected bike lanes — tends to slow traffic.
Glanbrook councillor Mark Tadeson, on the other hand, argued different types of roads warrant different levels of protection. “For me, just having a cycling lane does represent protection when you’re from a rural ward.”
Some letter writers opposed the addition of protected bike lanes because it would prevent parents from parking near schools to drop off kids, while others simply doubted the effectiveness of the planned bike lanes.
“Dewitt is a very wide road and, even with protected bike lanes, it will still remain wide enough for reckless driving practices,” wrote resident Ryan Hook, who appealed to council to implement “proper traffic calming measures” like speed bumps.
Cycle Hamilton co-chair Mark Anderson wrote to ask council to keep the concrete protection plan. He argued the addition of “nothing more than paint” will not promote safe cycling in the school zone. “A buffered cycling lane will still have motorists using the lane for parking,” he said.
Dewitt Road has already been reconstructed and repaved, but city staff said bike lanes with a painted buffer area will be added later this summer, along with speed bumps at yet-to-bechosen locations.