The Case for Bicycle Lanes - Conclusion

To summarize, spending money to support cycling is like putting money in the bank … it pays big dividends at low risk.

Bonassola to Levanto Italy
 Commuters may travel at speeds that put pedestrians at risk.
This trail is made safer for all with the addition of the pedestrian lane.
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So where are we headed as a community with building commuter bicycling infrastructure? One can point to the Rotary Way and the North Star Trail. Both are grand additions to our community and area but both are somewhat limited in their ability to transport us to our places of work or shopping. As a commuter route, the Rotary Way might be considered rather unsafe - vehicles parked on the trail are dangerous for cyclists and cylists must keep rate of speed very low for the safety of pedestrians. The North Star Trail, while much safer, does not serve Cranbrook well for non-recreational trips. After these, there is presently little else in terms of a ‘network’.

Italian rail trail conversion with pedestrian lane

Two important documents, the Cranbrook Official Community Plan and the Cranbrook Growth Management Study, should guide us in the implementation of bicycling infrastructure. Sadly, they are both vague, if not silent, on this very sustainable planning tool. The growth management study does not include bicycling networks in its tables of recommendations yet promotes itself as using sustainable planning tools as a foundation. Most all communities that have realized success with becoming bicycle-friendly have landed on the concept of a network grid of a mixture of identified bike-friendly streets, paths, and dedicated bike lanes. While the OCP identifies bicycling activity should be “encouraged”, it stops well short of specifics only to state that by 2015 there should be a ‘network’ in place leaving us to only imagine what this means.

Calls to City staff have resulted in confirmation that bicycling as an alternate means of transportation will be encouraged. This was good to hear though we would like to see more than encouragement to take us to the 2015 benchmark. For example, in the last five years we have seen major road improvements/construction in our community. What great opportunities to help build this network! Upon closer scrutiny, the results are disappointing. Ridgeline Road … no bike lanes. Cranbrook Street North … no bike lanes. Willowbrook Drive … no bike lanes. Kootenay Street … no bike lanes. Victoria Street … no bike lanes. 7th Avenue South … no bike lanes. 11th Street South … no bike lanes.

Let’s get our ‘weight’ problems under control. Leave your car at home for one day this week and hop on your bike. Your car will thank you. The City Traffic Engineer will thank you. Taxpayers will thank you. Your wallet will thank you. Your heart will thank you. Our local charities and thrift stores will thank you as you deliver unwanted clothes now too big for your slimming body. Perhaps your first destination could be City Hall and let our civic leaders know we want to see bicycle routes and lanes. We would like a choice in how we efficiently and safely get to our destinations.

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