Another day, another lousy update about some bike lanes. Just a few days after the city council of Saanich, B.C. kiboshed a plan to add bike lanes, another Canadian town is joining the parade.
The city of Brampton, Ont. is set to remove protected bike lanes from a busy section of Howden Boulevard, following a council vote last week that passed almost unanimously. Only Coun. Rowena Santos opposed the motion, which will see the lanes replaced with…sharrows, according to InBrampton.
Sharrows be damned
If you follow Canadian Cycling Magazine, you’ll often hear the familiar refrain, “paint ain’t infrastructure.” Separated bike lanes are far superior when it comes to road safety for cyclists.
The move was championed by Ward 7 Coun. Rod Power, who has argued for months that the concrete-barrier-protected lanes create traffic congestion and restrict vehicle movement in local neighborhoods.
A petition circulated last year also called for the bike lanes’ removal or relocation.
Safety last
City staff had previously presented five compromise options aimed at maintaining cyclist safety while easing traffic flow. Instead, during recent budget discussions, Power introduced a motion to scrap the protected lanes in favour of paint, erm, sharrows. He cited the need to maintain cycling accommodation without impeding cars.
The council-approved plan will restore Howden Boulevard to four lanes of vehicle traffic. But it’s a change city staff warn could lead to higher traffic volumes, more cut-through traffic, and a decline in cyclist usage. Staff also noted that average vehicle speeds may rise above the posted limit, particularly since Brampton currently lacks speed enforcement cameras.
Under the plan, $337,000 is allocated for the removal work, with an additional $393,000 earmarked for future bike lane relocation projects and the construction of a multi-use path to partially replace the protected lanes. While Santos secured an amendment for the new multi-use path, a proposal for painted bike lanes along Howden was rejected.
Familar pattern
Santos emphasized that Howden serves as the city’s primary east-west corridor for active transportation and warned that replacing bike lanes with sharrows could undermine progress on traffic calming and cycling safety, key elements of the Brampton Mobility Plan.
The city plans to update its active transportation master plan to reflect the changes and ensure…
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