A town hall meeting in Moncton, organized by two city councillors, provided a chance for residents to voice concerns and opinions about a stretch of Mountain Road.
Approximately 100 people attended the meeting, discussing the vehicle lane reduction from four to three, with one centre turning lane and the addition of bike lanes council voted on last year.
“We hear too many stories about almost head-ons or somebody almost getting clipped on a bicycle,” said Bryan Butler, a councillor for Ward 3 and co-organizer of the town hall along with Councillor Brian Hicks.
Amid a flip-flop decision last summer, the road was originally four lanes with two lanes flowing in either direction. As it stands now, there are three lanes: one in either direction, a centre left-turn lane, and two bike lanes on the edge of the road. That’s the case between Woodhaven Court and Front Mountain Road — more than two kilometres of road, according to Google Maps.
Last August, councillors agreed to return the road to four lanes, but before implementing the decision, asked staff to have a study done.
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Many motorists seemed to be in favour of going back to the original four lanes, but said speed is still a concern despite the speed limit reduction from 70 km/h to 50 km/h.
And while Butler and some residents agreed they wouldn’t take family biking on that stretch of road, Paul Goobie, an avid cyclist, says traffic has slowed down and he feels safer because of it.
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“I think that the bike lanes have made a dramatic improvement in the traffic in this area,” he said earlier in the day.
“We’ve slowed the traffic down so people can better use the bike lanes. The bike lanes are there to protect the cyclists.”
“Penalizing the safety of bikers because people are speeding or using the left-turn lane improperly is not the solution,” resident Carolyn Baer told Global News after voicing concerns at the meeting. “I do not feel safe, even in the bike lane, but I have no choice.”
She said maintenance of bike lanes is a concern, but that “the safety of everyone concerned is important, but if we want to promote health and help the environment, then we need to helping to promote biking and not taking it away.”
A suggestion discussed was a multi-use trail with a standalone bike lane on, or near, the sidewalk.
“It’s a dedicated lane just for bicycles, it’s paved asphalt, it’s generally a lot cleaner than the sides of the road,” said Edwin O’Donnell, pointing to trails along Elmwood Drive or Killam Drive.
“When you’re trying to make a left-hand turn out of our driveway… we get in that middle lane until we can find our way over to the right,” said resident Connie Hannah. ”
Marc Leger, another resident, said discussions should be based on data and statistics, because, “If you’re in a car, you’re going to have close calls on a regular basis… Driving is dangerous.”
“I think a combination of more fully-developed bike lane systems, and traffic calming where you can use physical barriers that choke traffic to slow,” he suggested.
“A lot of the issues that were coming up that everybody was in agreement on was people are driving too fast.”
Councillors Bryan Butler and Brian Hicks said they wanted to hear what residents had to say so they can be prepared for when the study results are in.
At the beginning of the meeting, Butler said he was pleased to see cyclists, locals and motorists alike all in attendance to voice concerns because he doesn’t want it to be a divisive topic.
He said the meeting was about enhancing democracy.
Councillors Paul Pellerin, Shawn Crossman and Greg Turner were also in attendance.
Butler said the results should be back in September or early October, but that they don’t want to rush another decision.
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