Transportation minister says Alberta is 'actively reviewing' bike lanes

Yahoo

a day ago

Alberta's provincial government is "actively reviewing" bike lanes that draw the ire of local residents.
Devin Dreeshen, provincial minister of transportation and economic corridors, said the province is reviewing bike lanes that draw concern from residents. He said the reasoning behind the move is to continue Alberta's work to build a "safe, efficient road network."
"Alberta's government supports active transportation, but we're concerned when municipalities use taxpayer dollars to reduce road capacity at a time when our province is investing billions to expand it," said Dreeshen via an emailed statement.
"While we fund major infrastructure projects, like the Deerfoot, to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, some local decisions are moving in the opposite direction removing driving lanes."
When asked, earlier this week, whether the province is planning to review both active and future bike lane projects, and if any current bike lanes are already under review, Dreeshen's office did not reply.
The minister's statement follows a June 27 letter he addressed to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek where Dreeshen said he was concerned about bike lanes being built at the expense of road capacity, and with how this work affects provincial road capacity.
Gondek's response in a July 3 letter invited Dreeshen to a meeting on how to best support Calgary's transportation needs.
Calgary currently has roughly 290 kilometres of on-street bikeways and cycle tracks. City council approved $56 million for Calgary's network of pathways and bikeways in 2023, and its long-term transportation plan looks to expand the network more throughout the next 60 years, including several ongoing projects to build further bikeway connections around the city.
In April, Dreeshen also voiced opposition to Edmonton's planned bike-lane expansions. He said the province supports bike lanes "when they make sense," but won't support "tax dollars being used to reduce road capacity." In the past, Calgary residents have raised concerns about some of the city's bike lane projects, arguing they add more traffic congestion.
The purpose and process behind a provincial review of bike lanes is unclear, said Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott in an interview with CBC News.
The infrastructure isn't under provincial jurisdiction, and within Calgary's central neighbourhoods, the lanes are far removed from the provincial road network.
"The provincial networks are highways. We're not talking about the Beltline. [From] the Beltline, it takes three different roads to get to a provincial road essentially, in many cases. And none of them will have cycling tracks on them," Walcott said.
When it comes to congestion, Walcott argued research has shown more lanes of traffic doesn't effectively tackle this problem. But alternative modes of transportation like bike lanes and public transit can ease congestion.
Regardless, when Walcott hears complaints from his constituents about bike lanes, typically it has more to do with parking than road capacity. For example, the pathways on 11th Street and 15th Avenue S.W. have drawn complaints for removing parking spaces or interfering with loading zones.
In some cases, Walcott said the city can respond to improve accessibility for all of a pathway's users. But he added that less on-street parking is sometimes a tradeoff the city makes to make space for cyclists, buses or pedestrians.
"That's what it means to share the road a little bit differently," said Walcott.
"These issues seem very beneath the minister."
Walcott added he was frustrated to have conversations around the value of bike lanes, after the recent death of a cyclist.
Calgary police said a man using an electric bike in a designated bike lane on 26th Avenue S.W. in Killarney died after colliding with a dump truck. Walcott noted the collision occurred in an unprotected, painted bike lane that's slated for construction to become a lane separated and protected from cars.
"The reality is [bike lanes are] good for the city, it's good for the health of the individuals using them, it's good for reducing traffic on the road, it's good for the environment, and it's really cost-effective," Walcott said.
Francisco Alaniz Uribe, an associate professor at the University of Calgary's school of architecture, planning and landscape, said the political nature of urban planning debates has been seen more often in Canada lately, noting a similar ongoing issue in Ontario.
The Ontario government passed a bill last year that allows it to remove major bike lanes in Toronto, despite the city's objections. Under the bill, cities also must now seek provincial approval to install new bike lanes that cut into vehicle traffic.
A temporary injunction in April halted Ontario's plans to remove three Toronto bike lanes until a judge rules on a Charter challenge by cycling advocates. On Wednesday, an Ontario court dismissed the province's attempt to appeal the court order.
Alaniz Uribe said Calgary's approach to creating a cycling network has involved extensive consultation, but that urban planning debates are always highly political because they involve discussing how we use shared spaces in our cities.
Cars have dominated streets for decades, Alaniz Uribe said, adding that urban planning now often involves carving out space for cyclists, wider sidewalks, public transit or more trees, which usually faces pushback.
"We're trying to change a value set where for a long time our value set has been the private automobile. And now, we're trying to get some of that space back for something that is not the automobile," Alaniz Uribe said.