Edmonton cyclists get high-tech help to cross the street

Cyclists at one Edmonton intersection are using a new piece of technology to cross the street.

As crews built a shared-use path along 102 Avenue, the city installed a bike detection sensor at 136 Street.

Bicycles approaching the busy intersection will trigger a magnetic sensor under the pavement which then changes the lights on 102 Avenue, allowing the cyclist to cross.

It works in a similar way to a regular marked crosswalk but there’s no button to push.

“I don’t have to actually get off my bike and push the button so it’s more convenient for a cyclist,” Dot Laing with the City of Edmonton said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I don't have to actually get off my bike and push the button so it's more convenient for a cyclist," Dot Laing with the City of Edmonton said.

The signals cost about $20,000 to install. They’re the first such detection systems in the city but Laing said if they work well, there could soon be more.

“We’ll see if there’s a need, certainly the city will evaluate and do what’s needed to make cycling safe.”

READ MORE: Cyclist groups applaud downtown Edmonton bike lanes pegged at $7.5 million

The signals are part of a new shared-use path that officially opened in September. It runs along 102 Avenue from 136 Street to the bridge over Groat Road.

The bike detection system isn’t the only new or potentially unfamiliar element on the new route.

There are a few different signs and road markings as well.

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For example, just west of the 102 Avenue bridge over Groat Road, there is a green crosswalk and a white crosswalk running almost parallel to one another.

The city says the green markings indicate a bike crossing.

On many of the cross streets, white squares bracket what appears to be a normal crosswalk. The city says that indicates a shared-use crosswalk.

Finally, there are caution signs lining 102 Avenue showing a bicycle next to a series of lines. That, says the city, is a sign urging people to be cautious around the shared-use path.

Laing said the city is aware drivers, cyclists and pedestrians may be unfamiliar with many of these markings.

“I believe there’s good signage on the road but we also have a bike education street team that canvases the area,” Laing said. “They’re trying to engage with the public to ask them how it’s going and also to let them know what the markings and the signage means.”

The bike-triggered crossing is the first in the city but Edmonton does have some similar cyclist aids at other intersections.

A camera placed above the intersection at Stony Plain Road and 153 Street also triggers a crossing light.