EDMONTON—The city’s much loved — and debated — downtown bike grid, officially turns one on Saturday.
It’s been a year since the city opened what would become a 7.8-kilometre network of protected lanes that have given cyclists unprecedented room to move in the core — delighting cyclists, angering some drivers and sparking an almost doubling in ridership.
“It’s still incredible to me that we successfully planned, designed, installed and launched an education campaign in under nine months,” said Olga Messinis, the city’s project manager for the downtown bike network.
The protected lanes now separate cyclists from traffic and pedestrians in most parts of downtown and some surrounding areas. Protected bike lanes are fenced, whereas unprotected bike lanes are only marked using paint on the roads.
According to the Downtown Bike Grid Monitoring website, the number of cyclists has increased by 81 per cent in May compared to a year ago.
Messinis said over the last year people have shared their experiences on how the bike network has “positively” changed the way they move around downtown.
“This was really important because we have a lot of communities that are within a short distance, under that five kilometre radius, where the downtown could be easily accessible by bike,” she said.
“It was something that we were lacking so it was really important to provide that safe infrastructure so we could increase the possibility and the option for people to be able to choose cycling over taking a car.”
The planning for prioritizing cycling began in 2009 when city council approved the bike transportation plan, which called for installing close to 500 kilometres of on-street cycling infrastructure within the next 10 to 20 years. The plan was to encourage Edmontonians to choose “cycling as a safe, healthy and efficient alternative to driving.”
Council approved in 2016 a budget of $7.5 million to begin the project and $625,000 per year for upkeep.