Two new bike lanes in Calgary have been met with mixed reactions from residents. One is in the southwest and the other is in the northwest.
Reduced parking and the inconvenience during construction are two of the main issues. The southwest route runs for 4.5 kilometres along 20 St S.W. from 26 Avenue to 54 Avenue through Marda Loop.
Cyclists like Zoe Stephens support the dedicated lane.
“I prefer it to riding on the street or the sidewalk…it’s a lot safer,” she said.
Crews are finishing off the Marda Loop project, which also includes pedestrian improvements like curb extensions, wheelchair ramps, and new sections of sidewalk. Temporary wooden sidewalks are in place at some sections, which is upsetting for residents like Pauline Mathezer, who uses a cane to walk.
“I have had difficulty walking with a hip replacement and it has impacted me,” she said.
On the other side of Calgary, a new bike lane in the city’s northwest is causing some concern for drivers and people living in Hillhurst.
WATCH BELOW: A new bike lane in northwest Calgary is causing some concern for drivers and people living in Hillhurst. While cyclists are giving the recently-opened 5 Avenue bikeway the thumbs up, people trying to park are panning it. Carolyn kury de Castillo reports.
While cyclists are giving the recently-opened 5 Avenue bikeway the thumbs up, people trying to park are panning it.
Corinne Mullan and her two children have already tried it out.
“I think they are fantastic. They get the bikes out of the way of the cars and the cars out of the way of the bikes. It makes it a lot more orderly to travel on the road and safer,” Mullan said.
“It just makes it easier. They just know they have to stay between the white lines and it gives them an easier set of rules to follow.”
The bikeway runs between 10 Street N.W. and 14 Street N.W. but some drivers are wondering if 5 Avenue was the right choice.
“Why can’t they find a more private or alternate route that is off the main busier street? I’m worried about hurting people,” Margaret Smith said. Smith isn’t against bike lanes but she says she won’t be using this one.
“I like biking myself but I would avoid the busy streets and cycle down the more quiet ones.”
READ MORE: Businesses complain about new Calgary bike lanes
The city’s bike coordinator says making the bikeway on 5 Avenue just made sense because it helps connect cyclists over to the existing bike route in Hillhurst.
“All of the data pointed to this corridor being the desired route,” Tom Thivener said. “Even before the bike lanes were in, it was being used by a large number of people, including kids trying to bike to Queen Elizabeth High School. So there really isn’t a good parallel option to this one.”
“5 Avenue is a collector street. It’s not the busiest street, it’s not the quietest route. But it’s the only street that really connects this part of Hillhurst to West Hillhurst and beyond.”
Some people have signed a petition over concerns about parking being removed from the north side of 5 Avenue leaving less spots for people using nearby Riley Park.
READ MORE: City unveils finalized plan for cycle track network
Petition organizer Louise Cornfield argues residents didn’t know the parking was being removed until it was too late.
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“There’s a lot more population, more density on the north side. So we wanted the parking left on the north versus the south. And we were basically told that it was already decided,” Cornfield said.
Other people who live along 5 Avenue are happy to have less cars parked in front of their homes.
“I like them. I think it gets used a lot,” said Lynn Fairey, referring to the new bike lanes. “It’s safer for bicycles. And it keeps out the downtown people that used to park in front of my place all day long.”
Thivener points to data that shows parking on 5 Avenue was underutilized.
“We did look at the data, and the parking use was only about 39 per cent used on this corridor, so it made a lot of sense to consolidate the parking on to one side of the road,” Thivener said.
Curb extensions have also been installed to improve pedestrian safety and slow traffic.
Construction on the new 20 Street S.W. bikeway is almost wrapped up, too. The project includes a 4.5-km bikeway to connect people who bike from the pedestrian bridge over Glenmore Trail and the reservoir through Marda Loop to the inner city. Bicycle lanes will be installed between 26 Avenue and 54 Avenue S.W. and neighbourhood greenways on the north and south ends.
More information is available on the city’s website here.
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