Hilchey Bike Lanes
It’s been a long process since our first letter to Council regarding the apparent disregard for cycling infrastructure during Phase 1 of the Hilchey Rd renovations. Since then there have been more letters, behind the scenes conversations, moments of hope, an ambitious report from staff, moments of despair, more letters, a civic election, and, finally, a recommendation from city staff that was at last approved by Council on Monday night (May 31, 2021).
View the recommendation HERE.
Briefly, it allocates $150,000 to the creation of a painted and buffered (two lines of paint rather than one) bike lane on each side of Hilchey Rd. It includes green paint at intersections, an additional crosswalk at Hwy 19A, modifications to the traffic lights, etc.
To accomplish this it will no longer be possible to store idle vehicles on the North side of the road.
Paint by itself has very few protective properties but this project claims some vital real estate for bikes to use and provides for the possibility of protecting these lanes with cement curbs in the future.
The work should be finished this summer.
Bike Infrastructure Planning
One of the aforementioned moments of hope came when Council decided to split cycle infrastructure planning from the Master Transportation Plan so that priorities can be established more quickly.
Staff has been asked to reach out to the cycling community for input regarding the most important corridors to develop. Watch for your opportunity to influence this planning!
