A Red Deer city councillor says the $800,000 commuter bike lane pilot project was a mistake that needs to be corrected.
Coun. Chris Stephan said anytime vehicle lanes are taken away on some of the busiest roads it is going to be a problem.
Stephan said he foresaw the problems in the designs for the extension of the bike pilot that included 40th Avenue, 55th Street and 39th Street.
“I think we need to listen to what the concerns are and we need to correct it fast,” said Stephan.
“I hope that we do learn from our mistakes. I look at this as a mistake in terms of process and also implementation. I think we need to respond to the public and make the necessary corrections.”
The city has received close to 2,000 responses to its online survey that went up on its website about a month ago. Stephan said city council has received more responses on the pilot project than any other issue in this term. He said city council needs to be educated from the public on this issue.
“The petitions and surveys that are going around is part of educating council on what they want us to have us as priorities and how they want their money spent,” Stephan said.
“To see that community activism going around is a great thing. Ultimately in the long run it will lead to better decision making on behalf of council so I think the community input we are getting is a great thing.”
Mayor Morris Flewwelling agreed the response to the pilot has been the most vocal to anything in recent years and seeing the bike lanes on streets has caught people’s attention.
Flewwelling said people tend to resist change but eventually adapt to it.
He said this is the first time there has been a major change in the city since the ease of communication has allowed residents to voice their opinions through e-mail and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
“If you were to talk to people in any other centre where bike lanes were initiated, you would go through the same initial, shock, awe and resistance,” said Flewwelling.
Flewwelling said there was a hiccup in the designs at 39th Street and 40th Avenue and city crews fixed the issue over the September long weekend.
“They shifted the lanes a little bit to create a left-turning lane and that made all the difference in the world,” said Flewwelling. “I think that shows the people who are involved with the bike lanes directly (city council and administration) are sensitive to tweaking and making small changes as they seem to be dictated.”
On Friday, city resident Ryan Handley, 40, started an online petition calling for city council to remove existing bike lanes and to halt all future lanes before continuing with the $800,000 pilot.
As of Monday afternoon, there were more than 850 signatures on the petition. Once the list gathers 2,000 signatures, Handley will take the petition to city council.
“Our city isn’t designed for bike lanes,” Handley said. “I want them to revisit it right away instead of waiting.”
Handley said the city should reverse the changes on 55th Street, in front of Eastview Middle School and on 39th Street, areas where there is increased congestion and long waits at intersections. Instead, he said, the city should focus its attention on putting in bike lanes in the new subdivisions instead of retrofitting public streets.
“We have six or seven, eight months of winter and for them to spend that much money in doing these bike lanes wasn’t realistic or it wasn’t smart use of our tax money,” said Handley. “Bike lanes in our environment isn’t necessarily the right way to go. We have a good sidewalk system, path system but to spend that much money in doing what they are doing is not right.”
Springbrook resident Tara Chaput, 32, is concerned with the traffic and potential for accidents around Eastview Middle School, where her son started Grade 6 this year. Chaput, a mother of five, parks her vehicle at Annie L. Gaetz School where two of her children attend school and walks her son to the middle school.
Chaput said she supports the bike lanes but feels they may not have been put on the right roads.
“Rather than complain about it, accept it and figure out ways to avoid those areas that are congested,” said Chaput. “For us we have an alternate route and we can get around all the congestion by being patient and letting things work itself out.”
In 2011, city council approved $800,000 to come out of municipal reserves towards the two-year pilot project. To fill out a city survey visit www.reddeer.ca/bikelanes or to sign the petition visit www.petitionhosting.com.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com