Mandel calls bike-lane plans a nightmare

Edmonton’s bike-lane construction plans are turning into a “nightmare” that is pushing cars off the road, says Mayor Stephen Mandel.

“(The project) is becoming something more far-reaching than I think council had once anticipated,” Mandel said Wednesday at council’s transportation committee.

He asked for a report on the consultation process and the impact of the lanes on communities “as quickly as possible” after receiving several complaints, particularly from businesses.

“This is becoming a nightmare,” Mandel told transportation general manager Bob Boutilier.

“Not that they’re not a good idea, but it just seems someone behind your scenes out there has just decided we’re going to eliminate all vehicles and only have bikes.”

The city is proposing to paint 23 kilometres of shared-use and bicycle-only lanes across Edmonton this year, part of a plan to create almost 500 kilometres of on-street cycling routes within 20 years.

While city officials say surveys show the lanes have led to increased riding, some people are unhappy the move will eliminate parking in front of their homes, particularly along 76th Avenue from 78th to 100th streets.

They argue this change is inconvenient and the wide-open roads encourage drivers to go faster, although planners say there is sufficient nearby street parking to meet demand.

Boutilier denied his department is anti-car, but said residents may only now be seeing the impact of a bike transportation plan updated by council in 2009.

“What we have learned from this is we have to ensure all of the individuals along the bike route understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” he said.

“Much of the feedback came years ago when the policy started. At the time, they might not have understood what would happen in their neighbourhood, that if you put a bike lane in, you lose parking.”

Other elements of the bike plan include putting racks on all buses, expanding the bicycle parking program and creating more multi-use trails.

The department has tried to save money by painting road markings as part of neighbourhood reconstruction, but in future may focus on completing cycling networks so they’re more useful to riders, Boutilier said.

They’ll hold more discussions with the public on the issue, and will find out if council wants to change the policy after the report returns to the transportation committee in mid-March.

“What we’re looking for is, do we still have the support to get this done as fast as we want to do it?” he said.

“There are communities that are looking for it, but … older communities where rehabilitation is going in and people rely on front parking, that’s the challenge.”

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters supports this year’s plans, saying in a news release the bike boulevard slated for 97th Street will reduce speeding and shortcutting.

The group also likes buffered lanes separated from traffic by wider diagonal lines proposed on parts of 106th Street, 132nd Avenue and 40th Avenue.

Coun. Amarjeet Sohi said he feels better riding his bike in the current shared-use route along Mill Woods Road, which hugs the curb and prevents parking in some sections, and elsewhere goes outside a parking lane.

He’d like the city to look at how it does consultation in an effort to find similar compromises elsewhere between two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles.

“It’s very unfortunate that this (issue) has created a lot of tension among community members … Bike lanes are important, because we want to encourage people to use sustainable modes of transportation,” he said.

“Marking roads increases that sense of safety for cyclists, but do we have to do it in a way that bans parking and creates other difficulties for communities?”

The city held an open house this week outlining the 2013 lane marking plans, with a second meeting set for 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. next Wednesday at Crestwood School, 9735 144th St.