- Why were the bike lanes painted just before winter?
- Why wasn’t there any consultation with cyclists or the adjacent communities?
- Why wasn’t there advance notification to the adjacent communities or the public?
- I see far more vehicles than cyclists using 10 Street. Why is The City removing a lane of travel for traffic to install bike lanes?
- Why aren’t cyclists directed away from busy roads like 10 St N.W. and onto sidewalks, pathways or quiet side streets?
- What are the rules for how motorists and cyclists should travel on a road that has bike lanes?
1. Why were the bike lanes painted just before winter?
Since the roadway’s asphalt was resurfaced this summer, it was more efficient and cost-effective to paint the bike lanes along with the other road painting before the first snow fall.
2. Why wasn’t there any consultation with cyclists or the adjacent communities?
Usually The City provides advance notice about a new bike project to the adjacent communities through a mail-out or portable signs along the roadway. This pilot project progressed quickly. Since the asphalt on 10 Street was resurfaced this summer, The City seized the opportunity to paint the bike lanes along with the other road painting before the first snow fall.
A bicycle lane or wide curb lane for cycling has on 10 Street N.W. from 5 Avenue to Northmount Drive been part of the long-range bicycle network for ten years. It was identified in the Pathway and Bikeway Plan, which Council approved in 2001.
3. Why wasn’t there advance notification to the adjacent communities or the public?
The pilot project progressed quickly. Variable text message boards activated along the route let travellers on 10 Street know that a bike lane pilot project was starting. A project webpage went live on calgary.ca the day after the bike lanes were painted.
4. I see far more vehicles than cyclists using 10 Street. Why is The City removing a lane of travel for traffic to install bike lanes?
The City is striving to offer travel choice by providing more facilities for cyclists as outlined in the Cycling Strategy and Calgary Transportation Plan. The volume of traffic using 10 Street can be accommodated with the new layout. Transportation Department staff have observed traffic along the pilot route on several mornings, afternoons and weekends. Traffic keeps moving and we will be monitoring traffic patterns.
5. Why aren’t cyclists directed away from busy roads like 10 St N.W. and onto sidewalks, pathways or quiet side streets?
To complete Calgary’s bicycle network, on-street routes are needed to complement multi-use pathways and routes on quiet residential roads. People that are interested in cycling need direct routes that connect them to destinations.
6. What are the rules for how motorists and cyclists should travel on a road that has bike lanes?
Bicycles and motor vehicles are considered vehicles in Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act. Cyclists and motorists have the same rights, same rules and same responsibilities. Cyclists and motorists who act with courtesy and consistency make it easier and safer for everyone to get along on the road.
