Rally tonight against the South Main bike lanes

Opponents hoping to put the brakes on the expansion of Penticton’s lake-to-lake cycling route down South Main Street are rallying outside city hall tonight at 6:30.

Rally organizers are particularly concerned about how separated bike lanes will impact residents and businesses along the final two kilometres of the route, in particular South Main Market and access to its parking lot off the busy road.

Linda Olson, who counts herself among the handful of organizers, said completed sections of the bike route have done nothing but add to concerns in the south end of the city.

“Now we’ve got separate signs for bikers, et cetera, and it’s way more than we want in a small town,” said Olson.

The group’s first step was a public meeting staged May 9 at the Penticton Seniors’ Drop-In Centre that attracted about 150 people. Volunteers have also been circulating a petition with approximately 1,400 signatures on it now.

Olson invites anyone with similar concerns to join her group tonight.

“We’re not professionals,” she said. “We’re just concerned citizens.”

South Main Street currently has bike lanes on both sides that are delineated by paint.

The city plans to beef up protection for cyclists by installing the same metal barriers and signage along the route as it has in other parts of the city.

“We’d prefer to see them leave it as it. Brighten up the lines, maybe put down the green paint, but leave it as it is,” said Olson.

Consultation on the exact routing is expected this summer with the work slated to take place in 2024 after other road projects in the area are completed this year.