Bike lane money better spent elsewhere

Re: “Bike corridor is best thing in years,” letter, June 17.

Victoria city council’s recent Fort Street bike-lane decision makes it clear they plan to proceed with the separated bike-lane network despite public concerns and escalating costs. The original Pandora estimate was $2.1 million and is currently $3.4 million not fully completed. In February, the estimate for Fort Street was $2 million and has ballooned to $3.19 million with city council voting to borrow some of the additional funds from infrastructure accounts, ignoring deteriorating roadways (Blanshard, Quadra, Wharf, Belleville and Dallas), sidewalks and parks.

As a recreational cyclist who enjoys riding throughout Victoria, I can understand the intention and concept of increasing the attractiveness of cycling in the city. However, a 2007 Copenhagen study concluded that separated bike lanes had positive effects on the feelings of security, but negative effects on road safety.

As a downtown Victoria business owner and taxpayer, I am concerned with the flawed reasoning and rush to push the projects ahead without adequate public input, transparency in costs and indication of which city improvements get cancelled or delayed just so council can leave their cycling-network legacy. Completing the 24-kilometre network by 2022 at the current rate of more than $3 million per kilometre will cost more than $75 million, eliminate more than 500 downtown parking spaces and benefit a few at the expense of the many. It’s much more prudent and responsible to wait until Victoria has the population, density, tax base, need and support to justify such an expensive cycling network. Michael Bennett Saanich