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

Regional councillors want to move ahead with plans to expand and upgrade a network of separated cycling lanes in Kitchener and Waterloo despite messaging from the province about the future of such projects.

During a sustainability, infrastructure and development committee meeting on Tuesday, councillors voted 12-1 in favour of plans to design separated bike 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 Lang 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 of transportation for the region, told councillors the report considers how all users would be impacted by changes to roads.

He also told councillors he understood the recent announcement by the province that it may curb plans for future bike lanes "may give you pause" to approve the plan.

"What you are approving is a network concept. The individual project approvals for each of these will come separately and once 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 Toronto streets and has said going forwardmunicipalities would require provincial approval to install bike lanes if they had to remove a lane of traffic.

WATCH|Cyclists and congestion: Will removing bike lanes ease city traffic?:

Cyclists and congestion: Will removing bike lanes ease city traffic?

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As Ontario tables legislation to block cities from building new bike lanes, claiming they add to congestion, The National asks urban planner Jeff Casello and longtime cyclist Orest Soltykevych to break down how bike lanes actually impact city traffic, and how they can be improved.

The government has saidbike lanes are contributing to gridlock, a claim critics have disputed.

Waterloo Mayor Dorthy McCabetold CBC News in October she felt the move was the province "stepping directly into municipal jurisdiction" which was surprising "because the premier has said on a number of occasions that he does not want to interfere."

Students would potentially use bike lanes, council told

Councillors heard from three people who supported their plans to expand bike lanes.

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

"In particular, Erb, Bridgeport and Caroline streets often feel dangerous even for the people who are driving on them," she said, noting in some spots the roads are three or four lanes across.

"These roads are so wide that drivers absolutely fly down them because it feels like they have the space to do so. Narrowing from three to two lanes can often be an effective traffic calming measure, and still leaves plenty of road volume for vehicles."

She said the province's decision to limit bike lanes is "frankly absurd" and there's "absolutely no consideration of what local residents need or want."

Ashley Cullen of Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region said the service supports the region's plans that would "provide necessary protection for children and youth cyclists and for their walking peers, too."

She said there are 556 students who could use the routes, and when cyclists are physically separated from vehiclesthey're more likely to bike or walk to school.

"Convincing kids to bike is easy. Convincing kids biking is fun is easy. But before cycling can be a real option for kids, caregivers must see a route that is comfortable, safe and reasonably direct to school," Cullen said.

'Streets should be safe and usable by all'

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 being priorities.

Strickland said while some vehicle lanes would need to beremoved, it's the group's view it would be only impact travel times slightly.

"We don't know if the province will listen to any reasonable arguments, but the fact that they are insisting on removing three major cycling routes in Toronto without even bothering to look at data is troubling to say the least," he said.

Strickland added 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 decidingwhere bike lanes could go.

"From an equity perspective, streets should be safe and usable by allnot 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 would need to come back to regional councillors for approval. If those plans are approved, the report says upgrades would be completed in phases by 2032.