City of Powell River Council has approved submission of a grant application for new bike lanes, with the city allocating a contribution of $118,232 for the fifth phase of the municipal cycling plan.
Council sanctioned the grant application and expenditure at its Thursday, March 21, council meeting. The fifth phase is designed to connect Willingdon Beach and surrounding trails to the existing network of bike lanes on Joyce Avenue.
Councillor Jim Palm said that previously, when the city applied for grants for expansion of its bike lanes, the grants paid for 50 per cent of the cost, with the other 50 per cent being borne by the city. For the first four phases of the bike lane expansion, $1,044,620 has been expended, with the city’s share being $522,310. The money came from the community works gas tax reserve fund.
The fifth phase differs because the grant program now pays 75 per cent of the cost of the expansion. In total, the cost of phase five would be $462,500, with the city’s sharing being $118,232.
Palm said the proposed cycle lane extension comes from Joyce Avenue, down Abbotsford Street, goes through to the Willingdon Beach area and ties into the highway. He said city staff members have worked hard to make sure the bike lane does not interfere with businesses and keeps disruption to parking at a minimum.
If the city receives the grant, there will be public engagement, so if anyone has concerns about the route, they can voice them, according to Palm.
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman, chair of the city’s sustainability committee, said the matter had come to the committee the day previous to the council meeting, and the proposed route for phase five is a change from the original municipal cycling plan, where the route was to be down Alberni Street. She said that it would be more expensive to widen Alberni Street for the bike lane and businesses at the bottom would be impacted. The former plan would have also gone through the intersection of Alberni Street and Marine Avenue, which is a busy junction.
According to a report from city director of infrastructure Tor Birtig, the connection from the highway to Abbotsford Street will be made through a paved, separated mixed-use path that winds through the Powell River Historical Museum parking lot and lawn, through the forested portion of the lot and into the west portion of Abbotsford Street.
Leishman said the sustainability committee supports the expenditure for phase five of the cycling plan.
Mayor Dave Formosa said he has heard complaints from people who do not think this is a good use of money and are complaining about the condition of city streets. His answer to them, he added, is that, first and foremost, it keeps cyclists safe.
“As I travel around the world, cycle paths are going on everywhere; in Asia, they have roads that are separate bike paths beside the highway,” said Formosa. “We want to get people out of the home and getting some activity. That’s why I’ve supported it and will continue to support it, especially when it’s funded up to 75 per cent by other government.”
