City of Powell River will widen Padgett Road at the Duncan Street end to accommodate and connect to a bike lane.
Powell River City Council, at its meeting on Thursday, June 5, approved up to $110,000 being spent to make improvements to a 250-metre stretch of Padgett Road within the city boundary. Powell River Regional District (PRRD) and the ministry of transportation and infrastructure have been active in the creation of the lane, and the city plans to dovetail with the other two levels of government to coordinate the project in a single phase using one contractor. The schedule for the work is proposed for the summer of 2014.
Councillor Russell Brewer said there is a regional transportation planning group with wide representation from the City of Powell River, PRRD, Vancouver Coastal Health, the transportation ministry and the Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation. The project is an example of something that has come about as a result of coordinating activities, he said.
Tor Birtig, city director of infrastructure, submitted a report to council that indicated the section of Padgett Road between Duncan Street and Myrtle Road is 6.5 metres wide. The proposed pavement width for the bike path project for the road is nine metres, he said. The northbound road width will be five metres wide, accommodating a 1.5 metre bike lane, and the southbound lane will be four metres wide, incorporating a bike sharrow, a lane shared by both bicycles and vehicles.
In addition to the bike lanes, the road widening will increase vehicle traffic lanes from 3.2 to more than 3.5 metres. Birtig indicated that rehabilitation to the failed sections of asphalt pavement on the existing road surface will also be included in the scope of work, which will involve 625 square metres of asphalt pavement widening, gravel shouldering, line marking, signage and asphalt patching.
Council unanimously passed a motion endorsing the expenditure.
