Fredericton working to improve bike lanes, years after target date

There are 24 kilometres of designated bike lanes in Fredericton — but by now there should have been 45 kilometres.

That’s according to the city’s Trails/Bikeways Master Plan, which was first introduced in July 2008 and states there were supposed to be 45 kilometers of bike lanes throughout the city by the end of summer 2011.

City of Fredericton traffic engineer Jon Lewis says there have been challenges implementing the plan, relating to roadway cross sections and the size of roadways in certain parts of the city.

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Lewis says that bike lanes have been added where they would fit as part of the city’s roadway system.

“We’ve kind of picked the low-hanging fruit right now where we’ve put bike lanes where they’ll fit, but we know, we recognize there are a lot of gaps in the system and [we’re] certainly hoping we can get the public’s feedback in determining where those priorities should be,” Lewis said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've kind of picked the low-hanging fruit right now where we've put bike lanes where they'll fit, but we know, we recognize there are a lot of gaps in the system and [we're] certainly hoping we can get the public's feedback in determining where those priorities should be," Lewis said.

He says one priority the city has identified is improving connectivity between the trail system and the core bike lane system.

Radical Edge bike shop employee and avid biker Joey Landine says a change in attitude needs to come from drivers in the city, not solely an expansion of the bike lane system.

“The trail system is really about promoting physical activity and safety whereas the roads are a relatively dangerous place to ride sometimes. I think it really scares people from riding their bikes sometimes,” Landine said.

Fredericton Trails Coalition Inc. president Art McFadden agrees the road riding can be intimidating and though the number of people using the multiuse trails has gone up, safe access to city streets is key.

“It is a little intimidating downtown. The streets of Fredericton downtown, a lot of them are very narrow because they have parking on the sides and then you add two or three lanes of traffic and there’s not a lot of room for bicycles,” McFadden said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is a little intimidating downtown. The streets of Fredericton downtown, a lot of them are very narrow because they have parking on the sides and then you add two or three lanes of traffic and there's not a lot of room for bicycles," McFadden said.

Lewis admits the city hasn’t done a great job tracking how many people use the trails, but says this year the city is investing in some new trail counting equipment to better understand the numbers and types of cyclists.

Lewis says the public can give their input in a new study the city hopes to launch next week.