New bike lane plan gets green light from regional councilors despite concerns over provincial approvals

Regional councilors want to move forward with plans to expand and upgrade a network of separated bike lanes in Kitchener and Waterloo despite messages from the province about the future of such projects.

During a meeting of the sustainability, infrastructure and development committee on Tuesday, councilors voted 12-1 in favor of the plans to design separated cycle lanes in six areas:

• King Street between University Avenue and Weber Street N.
• University Avenue between Westmount Road and Albert Street.
• Bridgeport Road between Lancaster Street and Long Crescent.
• Bridgeport Road between Goldbeck Lane and Albert Street.
• Caroline Street between Albert Street and Erb Street W.
• Erb Street E. between Caroline Street and Goldbeck Lane.

Doug Spooner, the acting commissioner for transport in the region, told councilors the report considers how all users would be affected by road changes.

He also told councilors he understood the recent announcement from the province that it may limit plans for future bike lanes “may give you pause” to approve the plan.

“What you’re approving is a network concept. The individual project approvals for each of these will come separately and when we have more clarity from the province,” Spooner said.

Last month, the Ontario government introduced Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act. It has announced plans to remove bike lanes from three streets in Toronto and has said municipalities will now require provincial approval to install bike lanes if they have to remove a traffic lane.

SEE | Cyclists and congestion: Will removing cycle lanes ease urban traffic?:

The government has said cycle lanes contribute to gridlock, a claim critics have disputed.

Waterloo Mayor Dorthy McCabe told CBC News in October that she felt the move was the province “stepping right into the municipal jurisdiction,” which was surprising “because the premier has said on a number of occasions that he doesn’t want to interfere.”

Students would potentially use cycle paths, the municipality said

Councilors heard from three people who supported their plans to extend the cycle paths.

Stephanie Fritz, a Kitchener resident, said she felt the bike lanes would provide extra space between vehicles and pedestrians.

“Erb, Bridgeport and Caroline streets in particular often feel dangerous, even to the people driving on them,” she said, noting in some places the roads are three or four lanes across.

“These roads are so wide that motorists absolutely fly down them because it feels like they have room for it. Narrowing from three to two lanes can often be an effective traffic calming measure and there is still plenty of road volume for vehicles .”

She said the province’s decision to restrict bike lanes is “frankly absurd” and there is “absolutely no consideration of what local residents need or want.”

Ashley Cullen of Student Transportation Services in Waterloo Region said the service supports the region’s plans that would “provide the necessary protections for children and youth bicyclists and also their walking peers.”

She said there are 556 students who could use the routes and when cyclists are physically separated from vehicles, they are more likely to cycle or walk to school.

“It’s easy to convince kids to ride a bike. It’s easy to convince kids that biking is fun. But before biking can be a real option for kids, caregivers need to see a route that’s comfortable, safe, and reasonably direct to school ,” Cullen said.

“The streets must be safe and usable by everyone”

Tom Strickland of the advocacy group CycleWR also expressed support for the upgrades, saying it would improve five routes that members of their group have identified as priorities.

Strickland said that while some vehicle lanes would have to be removed, the group’s view is that it will only slightly affect travel times.

“We don’t know if the province will listen to any reasonable arguments, but the fact that they insist on removing three major bike routes in Toronto without even bothering to look at data is troubling to say the least,” he said.

Strickland added that if Bill 212 is passed into law, he hoped the region would push hard for the province to consider “objective data and reasonable criteria” when deciding where bike lanes could go.

“From an equity perspective, the streets should be safe and usable by everyone, not just those who can afford to own a car,” he said.

The decision, made in committee on Tuesday, still needs to be ratified at a council meeting.

If that happens, the actual plans to upgrade the bike lanes will have to go back to regional councilors for approval. If those plans are approved, the report says upgrades will be completed in phases by 2032.