Halifax advocates hand their city an entire protected bike lane plan on a platter

February 18, 2015

For biking believers both inside and outside of government, the playbook has become familiar.

Lobby city planners to make a bike network plan. Get it funded. Make it as forward-thinking and ambitious as possible. Once you've drawn a bunch of lines on the city's official map, select the most important projects and start to fight political battles street by street, compromising every step of the way with those who argue that biking facilities don't need to be that common or that comfortable or that direct — forcing elected officials to weigh the needs for this parking lane or that turn lane one block at a time.

It's a time-tested strategy, and it can certainly get results. But this winter in Halifax, a handful of volunteer biking advocates decided to try turning the process upside down.

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