| For Grant Neufeld, the new bicycle lane on 9A Street N.W. is a long-awaited victory for one of his many causes.
Among Calgary’s most active activists, Neufeld has campaigned against the vehicle-centric planning policies of Calgary for years, and hopes this is just the first of many improvements for commuter cyclists in the city.
"I was very pleased to see it going in. I hope it’s a sign of much more to come," says Neufeld. "It reflects the special nature of bikes as a means of transportation in this city. Recognizing we need to make special accommodation for bikes is important. Sticking to just the sidewalk rules is not adequate or appropriate."
The bicycle lane is a first in Calgary in that it runs against the one-way flow of traffic on 9A Street — recognized as a major artery for both bicycle and vehicle traffic. Little bonuses such as this for cyclists, Neufeld says, will ideally lure more people to the world of spandex shorts and helmets.
He adds that the pathway system in Calgary, though extensive and impressive, does not adequately accommodate commuter traffic given its limited access to the downtown core, and that riding around the core itself is as dangerous as it is necessary.
"I myself have never been hit, but I have a lot of friends who have," says Neufeld. "People aren’t always patient."
On the last Friday of every month, Neufeld and a small band of cycling advocates participate in the Calgary manifestation of Critical Mass, an international movement dedicated to the rights of cyclists. The group meets at Eau Claire on the last Friday of every month. They ride around downtown, cheer, sometimes blast noisemakers and intentionally slow down traffic a little bit. Their slogan: We’re not blocking traffic, we are traffic.
The addition of the new bicycle lane is part of a greater effort by City Hall to cut down vehicle traffic in the downtown core and increase traffic efficiency as much as possible without expensive infrastructure expansions.
Through minor alterations to roads and intersections, the city hopes more Calgarians will turn to transit, walking and cycling.
As another example of this, the Department of Transportation Optimization recently added an extra 200 seconds to the traffic lights at the intersections along Stephen Avenue to allow pedestrians more time to cross during the area’s peak hours.
The creation of carpool and bicycle lanes requires a degree of foresight on the part of city planners. While it is generally agreed Calgary lags behind Canada’s other major cities in this respect, Troy McLeod, manager of transportation optimization for the City, does not believe poor planning is to blame for the traffic problems downtown.
"They have done a pretty decent job, like with the pathway systems," says McLeod. "But you can’t just keep building new infrastructure. Our group looks at where efficiencies can be gained in the network. You can always do more, but resources are limited."
Kip Keylock, president of the Calgary Mountain Bike Association (CMBA), applauds the city’s efforts to improve bicycle access to downtown from the suburbs, but says improvements are desperately needed in the core.
"It’s about time. I can honestly say that we are so far behind some cities with the path connections to downtown," Keylock says. "Many of our members commute to work. Some have a faster ride to work by bike than by car."
The CMBA is an advocacy group devoted to the maintenance and preservation of bike trails in Calgary and the surrounding area.
Four other locations are being considered for bicycle lanes, including 5th Street S.W., 26 Avenue S.W., 2nd Street N.W., and 8th Avenue N.E.
The city recently conducted a cyclist survey, where riders were given the opportunity to provide feedback to the city in terms of needed improvements. The results will be published in the fall. |
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