CALGARY – Cyclists who frequent the city’s bike paths may have noticed new double-solid lines popping up in the last few weeks.
The freshly painted yellow lines indicate the same thing they would on any road or highway: no passing.
While the double-solid lines are new for bike paths they aren’t new to city bylaws, which do include fines of up to $100 for passing on a double-solid line.
The city’s legal complaint department only deals with a few collisions or falls every year, but says they can be serious.
City Parks Lead, Diane Sutherland, says it’s a new way of alerting pedestrians and cyclists.
“Instead of littering the park space with more signs indication intersection ahead, curve, blind corner and such…We thought we would try the line painting, “Sutherland explains. “Use the double lines as an indication of something ahead that you should be aware of.”
In 2010, a senior died from injuries after being hit by an inline skater in Confederation Park.
Cyclist Mike Meinhardt noticed workers painting the lines a few weeks ago.
“I did find it looks a lot like a highway or something, “he notes. “Kind of overly intense”.
There are questions about whether the lines will be visible enough for cyclists as leaves fall on the ground, or in the winter months when snow and ice might get in the way.
Regardless, the new double-solid lines are already painted on paths along the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Nose Creek and Elbow Park.
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