Bicycle-activated lights added to ‘bike boulevard’
SIGNALS AT 7 AVENUE AND 13 STREET SOUTH TO GO INTO OPERATION DEC. 18
Bicycle-activated traffic lights are the latest addition to the city’s first “bike boulevard.”
The signals, at 7 Avenue and 13 Street South, will go into operation Dec. 18.
Their installation, says project manager Robert Kovacs, will all but complete work on the project for this year. In spring, he says, thermal plastic line marking and signage will be added.
Maximum speed along the entire route has been reduced to 30 km/h.
A concrete median will also be installed in the intersection, Kovacs says, preventing left turns and requiring vehicles on 7 Avenue to turn right at 13 Street. Only cyclists and pedestrians will be able to continue along 7 Avenue, he points out.
Push-button relays will provide a green light for those on foot.
The “bike boulevard,” running from Mayor Magrath Drive to 4 Street South, was the largest item in this year’s $800,000 intersection improvement program which will also provide a pedestrian signal at 10 Street and 6 Avenue South, adjacent to the Civic Centre park and arena.
Its design process, Kovacs says, involved surveys, public open houses and stakeholder workshops. Residents, cyclists and the city’s emergency services were also consulted.
The protected route is part of the city’s cycling and transit master plans, as well as the municipal development plan. They call for priority to be given to walking, cycling and transit, over private vehicles.
Next year, Kovacs says, the route will be extended west along 4 Street to the Scenic Drive South intersection. That plan also includes safety improvements to what has become a corner with a growing number of collisions, he says.