Businesses decry barring cyclists on Wyandotte St.
A decision to keep cyclists off Wyandotte Street East and reroute them away from the commercial district in Olde Riverside is being described as short-sighted and criticized by the very businesses the proposed policy is meant to benefit.
“We absolutely want them down here and go past our restaurant,” said Nicole Thompson, manager of the Thompson House restaurant.
“It would increase business all along the area.”
Cyclists are being asked to stay off a three-kilometre stretch of Wyandotte, in the Olde Riverside Business Improvement Area, and travel several extra kilometres on a southern route that zigzags along residential streets. The decision was made Wednesday in a narrow 3-2 vote by the city’s environment, transportation and public safety committee.
The committee ruled against creating Wyandotte cycling lanes between George Avenue and Edward Avenue. Instead, bike lanes are to be created to the south, as a lengthier east-west alternative.
A final decision will be made by city council in about a month, when the committee’s recommendation is debated.
The committee decided it would approve administration’s recommendation to travel south on Edward, then west on Edgar Street, south on Jefferson Avenue, west on South National Street, south on Pillette Road, west on Seminole Street and north on George Avenue to arrive back on Wyandotte — as opposed to just creating new bike lanes on Wyandotte.
Options to create room for cyclists on the four-lane stretch of Wyandotte included either removing on-street parking or reducing vehicle traffic down to two lanes.
While business owners were adamant that on-street parking stay, they saw no problem reducing traffic from four lanes down to two in that stretch.
Both the Pillette Village and Olde Riverside BIAs believe the same level of economic revitalization can occur on their end of Wyandotte as has occurred in nearby Walkerville, where traffic is narrowed to two lanes.
“It’s already like that heading into downtown and it seems to be working just fine there,” Thompson said. “If we had that, maybe Riverside would be booming, too — it could help everyone in the area.”
Coun. Hilary Payne was among those voting against any changes to Wyandotte, which he called “unrealistic.”
“It’s a very important east-west artery — second only to Tecumseh Road,” he said. “The city and that road were designed for vehicle traffic. I don’t see reducing it from four to two lanes, and then all the congestion that would occur.
“That kind of congestion, with backups at traffic lights, would cause a horrible impact on the environment with the idling.”
He believes in increased availability for cyclists, but not where it will “reduce the level of service drastically” and where “physically it’s just not going to work.”
When new roads are created, alternative transportation, such as bikes, should be included in the planning, Payne said.
Lori Newton of Bike Windsor Essex was exasperated with the council committee decision.
“There is no vision, creativity or planning for the future,” she said. “Their priority is always commuters and they don’t care about people who live and work in the area. “We have to stop that. “There are examples of cities all across Canada and North America putting their roads on a diet and figuring out a way traffic can still flow smoothly.”
The proposed zigzag route would double the distance of going straight down Wyandotte, from three kilometres to nearly six kilometres. Newton said for cyclists “that’s not going to happen.”
“Cyclists can almost see where they want to go (on Wyandotte) and they are not going to be winding their way down these other streets several kilometres out of their way.”
Committee chairman Coun. Bill Marra, who voted in favour of the bike lanes on Wyandotte, was hopeful a solution could be found before the issue returns to council.
He was especially supportive of bike lanes since both the Pillette and Riverside BIAs are on board.
“People then can slow down, see what is there and want to stop in many places,” Marra said. “The problem we have is saying no to the community and not offering a compromise approach.”
There might be a “hybrid combination” where during certain times of the day the four lanes of Wyandotte and street parking can be varied around rush hours to allow for smooth flow of traffic.
“Those kind of details can be hammered out,” Marra said. “You could have provisional lanes during peak times that is palatable for everyone.”
City CAO Onorio Colucci said he stands behind the recommendation of the zigzag path as the best option, but ultimately it remains council’s decision.
He said the ongoing criticism by cycling advocates is unfair.
“When it comes to cycling infrastructure we are spending more in the budget than we have ever spent,” Colucci said. “I think it’s disingenuous to say we aren’t doing something.
“You can always do more on anything, but it’s a balance between being fiscally responsible and providing services.”