Bike Lanes
Evans
January 30th,
2020
Safety before forward movement
Until a more reasonable
plan can be completed in regards to Victorias bike lane expansions, in regards specifically
to the proposed advisory bike lanes on Richard street between Vancouver street
and foul bay road, it is irresponsible to move forward. Advisory bike lanes are
designed with the idea of traffic flowing two ways along one single lane and
when converging traffic appears, move into the area on ether side occupied by
the bike lane. This type of bike lane has only been used in a handful of places
across north America and has only been implemented in two places in Canada.
“There is no good evidence that those are functioning in the way they are
supposed to” says Corey Bulger, the policy and infrastructure chair of the
Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition in an article by Jasmine Bala.
Collisions involving cyclists
are on the rise in Saanich, with the Saanich 2018 annual report showing a 25-present
increase since the previous year. As commuters work towards a both a greener
and cheaper way to travel, the main area of concern should be on implementing
long term safety measures to encourage travel by bicycle. As the current
political climate emphasizes on lowering greenhouse gasses, more thought should
be put towards potential expansions.
The importance of
creating a safer plan before moving forward with the expansion of Victorias
bicycle lanes can be further underlined by the fact that the 2016 Canadian
census showed that Victoria has the highest rate of reginal commuters cycling
to work at 6.6 percent. A 2017 capital regional district study has also
suggested that 15 present of morning travel to the downtown core is done by
bicycle.
Working on long term
plans in regards to expansion of bike lanes, with specific consideration paid
to the safety of cyclists, is much more important for the future of Victoria as
a leader in green innovation for the 21st century than implementing
immediate plans.
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