Key project will test separated cycling network in Waterloo
A new project being designed this fall could add a crucial piece of infrastructure and provide valuable information that could help shape cycling infrastructure for years to come.
The Region of Waterloo is working on a pilot project that aims to install a network of about five kilometres of separated bike lanes, also known as cycle tracks, in Waterloo next spring, at a cost of about $1.4 million.
The pilot will test whether a network of cycling facilities that link key destinations and are completely separated from road traffic will encourage more cycling.
“This is a very key project. Not only will it fill in a big chunk of the network, it will give us a lot of guidance on separation,” says Geoffrey Keyworth, Waterloo Region’s acting manager of transportation planning.
The pilot will test different types of barriers — planters, flexiposts and curbs — separating cyclists from cars. The region opted to test the network in Waterloo, which with its large student population has a ready supply of potential cyclists.
The pilot would explore questions like whether a separated network actually entices more people to get out on their bikes, look at the logistics and cost of winter maintenance, and determine if the roads tested are in fact the best candidates for a permanent cycling network.
If council approves the project’s funding and design, the pilot would be put in place next spring, and run 18 months. Details are still being worked out, but the route would likely run along King, Columbia and Albert streets, Bridgeport Road and University Avenue.
Because a key question would be whether the infrastructure attracts more cyclists, the pilot, if approved, will measure the number of cyclists on the route this fall, and compare that with the numbers of cyclists on the route once the cycle tracks go in,
There are very few cycle tracks in the region right now. There’s a 1.2-kilometre stretch along Manitou Drive between Bleams and Homer Watson in Kitchener. There’s another short stretch in uptown Waterloo that runs about 350 metres between Waterloo Town Square and Bridgeport Road.
The results of the pilot could influence plans for other cycle tracks.
The region’s transportation master plan recommends putting in separated bike lanes on three key east-west routes: Erb Street East and Bridgeport Road East, from Highway 85 to Caroline Street in Waterloo; Frederick Street/Benton Street in Kitchener, from Lancaster Street to Courtland Avenue; and parts of Victoria Street once the new Highway 7 is built.