Merchants of two minds on two-way Fort Street bike lanes
The start of construction to accommodate a protected two-way bicycle corridor on Fort Street is drawing mixed reviews from merchants in the area.
While shoppers on the north side of the 700 block of Fort Street, between Douglas and Blanshard streets, had to circumvent crews doing utility upgrades, many owners of affected businesses appeared to be taking the disruption in stride.
“Today we’ll get less traffic and it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s worth it,” said Adam Craik, a book buyer and supervisor at Russell Books.
“It’s like construction anywhere. It’s loud, but I think it’s for a good thing because they’re also redoing the sidewalks and plumbing outside the store, and we’ve had issues with plumbing in the past.”
Brunnell Construction, the Vancouver Island company awarded the $2.8-million contract to build the bicycle corridor, is expected to finish the work by May 2018.
The corridor will run between Wharf and Cook streets. Cyclists will ride on two lanes separated from motor vehicle traffic by a combination of paint and bollards, parked vehicles and concrete barriers. There will be dedicated traffic signals for cyclists.
Construction outside clothing store Dots has not adversely affected business, said manager Wendy Barnett. She said she hoped that would continue.
“They haven’t done the bike lanes yet, but what it’s going to do is probably give us a few more people because they tend to sit out there,” she said, pointing to a “parklet” outside her store. The conversion of two parking stalls into the sidewalk-café-like structure has proven popular since its installation two years ago.
“I thought that was going to slow us down,” she said, “but it helped generate people walking back and forth, actually.”
Both pedestrians and business owners have expressed concerns about potential safety issues.
“We love bikers, but I’m concerned it might not be safe for them,” said Street Level Espresso owner Charlene Archibald. She was echoing feedback over growing pains experienced after the city’s first separated cycling corridor was launched on Pandora Avenue between Cook and Store streets in May.
The two-way lanes, located on the north side of Pandora Avenue, adjacent to oneway westbound lanes for motorists, have earned praise and criticism.
Motorists, including B.C. Transit drivers, have complained that road changes have created congestion and unsafe driving conditions.
Cyclists have complained about drivers ignoring signs prohibiting right turns on red lights and turning into the cycling lane.
The City of Victoria has implemented an awareness campaign.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said the bike corridor was well engineered and follows best practices from other cities.
Despite Archibald’s bike-safety concerns, she said the construction is a small price to pay for improvements.
“It’s like when your kid goes off to daycare and you get used to the fact your kid has to go to daycare, so you’re OK with it,” she said. “So that’s kind of how we are with bike lanes.”
While some merchants complained that city council ignored their initial concerns, they were satisfied that their voices were eventually heard.
“None of us wanted it in the beginning, but now that they’re going through with it, they’ve listened to our needs and [are] addressing them the best they could,” said Garnett Rancier, owner of B.C. Shaver & Hobbies.
“I think it’s going to be challenging during construction, but when it’s done, it will be really nice,” said Rancier, expressing relief there won’t be as many parking spaces lost on Fort Street as he anticipated.
Ninety-five per cent of the on-street parking will be retained, with 11 of 204 stalls removed, said City of Victoria active transportation project management specialist Sarah Webb. An earlier design called for 19 stalls to be removed.
Michele Byrne, a third-generation co-owner of Dutch Bakery, said while she’s trying to stay positive, she’s upset the corridor is being implemented so soon after the Pandora project. She questioned the wisdom of moving ahead on Fort so soon, given the safety concerns about Pandora.
“I think they should have let Pandora go on for a couple of years and figure out what’s wrong and what needs to be changed before they start construction,” she said.
“I think a lot of taxpayers’ dollars are not being spent well, and then there’s a bridge that is taking forever, and so many other things with our homeless situation and other things going on in Victoria.”
Byrne appreciates the fact, however, that there will be a construction reprieve in November and December for the Christmas shopping season.
“Those are our big six weeks,” she said.