City of Powell River has been awarded $177,000 toward implementation of the second phase of its Municipal Cycling Plan.
The grant will pay for bike lanes from Duncan Avenue along Manson Avenue and down Joyce Avenue past Powell River General Hospital to Harvie Street. The lanes will also loop around Powell River Recreation Complex.
The city received $73,500 from the provincial government’s BikeBC fund in February for the construction of the lanes.
BikeBC is the province’s cost-sharing program that helps communities build cycling projects to attract and support commuters and tourism cyclists.
“The importance of cycling infrastructure in our communities is a common theme we hear when talking to British Columbians about their transportation priorities,” minister of transportation and infrastructure Todd Stone stated in a media release announcing $3.69 million in funding for 20 communities.
Jeremy Sagebiel, City of Powell River engineering technologist, explained the two projects were made possible by the work of Powell River Cycling Association (PRCA) and the city’s Municipal Cycling Plan.
The development of the lanes outside the downtown core for the time being and away from Joyce Avenue between Alberni and Barnet streets is a deliberate approach to make for a smoother transition of drivers and cyclists on the road together, said Sagebiel.
Bike lanes in the heavy traffic area near Town Centre Mall would be the next phase, according to Sagebiel.
While more experienced cyclists have the confidence to merge and ride in heavier traffic situations, the planned infrastructure is designed to make road riding in the city more accessible to cyclists of all ages and experience levels, he said.
Work has already begun on the widening of Joyce Avenue near the complex to allow for bike lanes on either side of the road.
“Once we get a good indication of how many bikes are using it and the vehicle population is accepting them, we’ll take a bit more of an aggressive stance to get more into the core of town,” said Sagebiel.
After the lanes are complete, PRCA will again collect data on how many cyclists are using the new lanes and compare those numbers, he added.
If the bike infrastructure is well received, the city may speed up the pace of the development, said Sagebiel.
According to Sagebiel, proposed bike lanes are expected to be complete by mid to late summer 2016.
