New ridership data proves a controversial protected bike lane in Hailfax’s university district is being frequently used by riders.
“We’re seeing an average of up to 160 people using the bike lane everyday,” Eliza Jackson said, the chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition.
The University Avenue protected bike lane is a shared pilot project between Dalhousie University and the Halifax Regional Municipality. The separated bike lanes were installed last fall and run along the north and south sides of University Avenue.
But the project has been faced with a steady stream of public push-back since the idea was launched in 2014.
READ MORE: Proposed bike lane in Halifax garners criticism
Initially, the project was shot down by vendors like the Dawgfather PhD, who had a hot-dog stand set-up on the south side of University Avenue.
“If a Pepsi truck pulls in here (in the lane) and is here for a half-hour, what’s the sense of having a bike lane?” The Dawgfather PhD said, speaking to the project before installation in April 2016.
The Dawgfather PhD tried to stop the installation by filing an injunction against the municipality, that was later quashed.
READ MORE: Sausage stand moves out, protected bike lane moves in
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After the bike lane was installed last fall, new complaints started rolling in.
“With the university there was about 117 complaints that were made about the loading zone in front of the Rebecca Cohn (Auditorium),” Jackson said.
That number was obtained by the Halifax Cycling Coalition filing a Freedom of Information Request with the municipality.
Those complaints were passed on to the committee that oversees the project.
Jackson said now that the automated counter is in use, the data will be beneficial in determining peoples cycling habits.
“It’s really key that we’re starting to get some concrete data about how people are using different routes in Halifax,” she said.
More protected bike lanes are on the radar for the municipality as part of the Active Transportation Priorities Plan.
“In some context we’re going to need protected bike lanes. So, on streets where there traffic volumes are busy and the speeds are higher. Our intent is to have a network that includes protected bike lanes along with other types of bike facilities,” Nener said.
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