Brakes put on new bike lanes this year

There won’t be any additions to Edmonton’s network of bicycle lanes this year as city staff plan future projects and seek council direction on the sometimes controversial project.

“There’s been a lot of kerfuffle, press, pushback, whatever you want to call it,” Rhonda Toohey, acting transportation planning branch manager, said Thursday.

“People (are) saying: ‘You have done a lot of those lanes, let’s take a look at it.’ ”

The city has spent $11 million installing 64 kilometres of onstreet bike routes and shared-use paths since 2010, part of a scheme to create almost 500 kilometres within 10 to 20 years.

But there was heavy criticism from residents last year over plans on which they felt they hadn’t been allowed sufficient input, such as a lane on 76th Avenue that would reduce on-street parking.

Officials will propose extra public involvement for routes along 76th Avenue and 121st Avenue, and also want more direction from councillors on how to implement the entire bicycle transportation plan.

“I think the tone of this next year is learn and move forward positively,” Toohey said.

“I think we can acknowledge that some of this didn’t go as we expected,” Toohey said. “This is new in Edmonton.”

Planners will work on ideas for routes in high-demand areas along 83rd Avenue through Old Strathcona and 102nd Avenue in Oliver and Glenora.

Feedback from 1,797 people online and at open houses last year led to such changes as signs to clearly show where cyclists need to be when a bike lane is beside parked cars, the report says.

This input also led to changes to routes along 115th Street 116th Street, 106th Street, 40th Avenue and 95th Avenue.

But Coun. Michael Walters, who held a public meeting about bike lanes attended by more than 250 people last November, said the city should focus on core corridors where demand is higher.

Planners also need to ensure residents are involved in the process from the start, he said.

“They need to let the communities have more of a say in the design … You can’t just take the map with the lines on the road to them and say: ‘Here they are, tell us what you think, and we will consider incorporating your ideas.’ ”

While he supports Edmonton’s goal of building a bicycle network, people are concerned about traffic congestion, losing turning lanes, safety and the lack of consultation, Walters said.

“If the community is behind it and the community will use it, then the investment is worthwhile.”