Winnipeg gets 1st barricaded cycling lane in West Broadway

West Broadway is getting a barricaded cycling lane the first of its kind in Winnipeg.

Construction is underway on Sherbrook Street from Wolseley Avenue to Broadway, where workers are installing concrete boulevardsto create a parking protected bike lane.

The lane will have short concrete boulevards divided by spaces for parked cars, which will separate cyclists from vehicle traffic. The idea is to shield cyclists from traffic with a divider made of concrete and parked cars.

Bike Winnipegs executive director Mark Cohoe said he has been lobbying the city for protected lanes since 2008.

Weve made progress, but theres an election coming out in October, and its a great opportunity for people to get out and elect a mayor and councillors who are committed to making Winnipeg bike-friendly, said Cohoe.

He said the city needs more protected lanes downtown, where traffic is heavy and the risk to cyclists is high.

All major streets should have one because there just isnt enough room! said Gerald Buchan, a cyclist who has been hit twice.

One crash left him with a broken arm that required seven screws and a plate to repair.

They had to replace the radius head in my elbow, he said.

Buchan said rush hour is particularly bad.

Its just too crazy, and then if you drive on the sidewalk, youre putting people in danger, he said.

The existing bike lane will extend down Sherbrook from the Maryland Bridge to Cumberland Avenue, but the only protected portion planned is in West Broadway.