City of Powell River councilors were requested to maintain bike lane funds for their intended use rather than allocating them to underwrite more library location studies.
At a special city council meeting Wednesday, July 30, Ionatan Waisgluss expressed concern that the chief financial officer would be bringing forward a recommendation later in the meeting to reallocate up to $60,000 from the city’s bike lanes capital project budget to fund the evaluations of two new potential library sites.
Waisgluss, prior to the council meeting, emailed city councillors, urging them to consider the unintended negative implications of using bike lane funds for these studies. He said the funds to improve Powell River’s bicycle infrastructure could bring opportunities and benefits to the community.
Waisgluss quoted from a researcher behind what he considers to be North America’s most extensive cycling economy paper. The economic paper is relevant to Powell River even though it pertains to cycling research in Toronto, he said.
“Cycling infrastructure is proven to aid local businesses as they compete against big chains from out of town,” Waisgluss said. “Small businesses do not have the vast parking lots afforded to mega-corporations and they could benefit from increased cyclist access.
“Local businesses need a flow of locals to stay afloat and thrive. Bike lanes provide that flow more efficiently and consistently than anything else.”
Waisgluss said cycling infrastructure, by enabling a larger percentage of people to save money on gas, translates into higher disposable incomes for citizens, which in turn leads to more economic activity that unlike gas expenses, creates jobs.
He also believes that improved cycling infrastructure would significantly enhance the tourist appeal of Powell River.
Finally, Waisgluss said cycling infrastructure is vital so children and adults can enjoy freedom, independence and safety in their own city.
“Instead of continuing to pour public money into evaluating old furniture stores for their library potential, I believe we should take advantage of the existing evaluations and polls, and go with the obvious choice,” Waisgluss said. “In conjunction with a developed bike lane system for Powell River, a library at Willingdon Beach would encourage business along the Marine [Avenue] area and beyond, promote accessibility and sustainability, and quickly become a hub of Powell River culture.”
Waisgluss said regardless of how he or anyone feels about the library issue, it should be obvious from looking into cycling economies that bike lane funding should go toward precisely that.
