Part-time Henderson bike lanes should go full time, Oak Bay councillor says

An Oak Bay councillor wants bike lanes on Henderson Avenue to be in effect 24 hours a day, with parking prohibited in the lanes overnight.

The painted bike lanes on Henderson Avenue near the University of Victoria operate as bike lanes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., becoming parking space for the other half of the day.

On weekends, parking is allowed during daytime hours as well. The current arrangement has been in place since 2008.

But Coun. Carrie Smart said it’s time to change that, noting in a motion to Oak Bay council that a 2011 active transportation study in the district recommended making the Henderson bike lanes full time.

She said adjacent properties have enough off-street parking, with more parking available on side streets. The road is a wellused route to the university, with homes that mostly have garages and large driveways to accommodate parked cars.

Smart said making the change is one small, immediate thing the district can make to promote active, low-carbon transportation, adding residents have raised concerns about the safety of cycling around parked cars in the early morning or at night.

“Parents [may] want their children to be able to independently cycle to school and to their activities on the weekend, but without this network of cycling routes, they don’t feel it’s safe,” Smart said.

Corey Burger, policy and infrastructure chair of Capital Bike, said the challenge with the current situation is that people need bike lanes most when it’s dark out, which is exactly when the space isn’t available for cyclists.

People also routinely park in the bike lanes during the day, despite the rules, he said, often pulling on to the sidewalk and blocking it to keep their cars within the 1.5-metre-wide bike lane.

But Pieter de Groot, president of the North Oak Bay Community Association, said he doesn’t believe there will be any improvement to cyclist safety if parking is prohibited.

It will, however, cause inconvenience to residents if they host large gatherings and guests have to park on side streets nearby, said De Groot. He said he often cycles the road in the morning.