City of Powell River staff have recommended spending $250,000 of community works funds to implement the first phase of a cycling network plan. Councillors will discuss the recommendation at the September 12 committee-of-the-whole meeting.
The bike route provides a connection to the city’s primary bike route along Joyce Avenue from the waterfront, using Westview Avenue, Wharf Street, Willingdon Avenue and Abbotsford Street. The route also provides access from Joyce to the Westview ferry terminal, parks and trail systems along the waterfront.
The plan includes reducing the speed limit on Westview and Willingdon to 30 kilometres an hour. Sections will be marked with bicycle route signage and “bicycle boxes” will be painted at key locations to create an area for bikes to wait for a safe opportunity to proceed or turn.
The plan includes removing one of two sidewalks on Wharf to create an eastbound bike lane and removing three parking stalls on the north side of Wharf to accommodate westbound bike traffic.
From Willingdon, a bike lane will be made in the parking lot adjacent to the old arena site. It will continue along the waterfront side of the old arena lot, up to a proposed crosswalk across Marine Avenue to the parking lot of the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives. A paved divided bike lane will be installed from the museum parking lot to Abbotsford and 30 metres up Abbotsford, complete with appropriate bike lane and route signage and line painting.
Council discussed the need for a cycling network plan at the August 29 committee-of-the-whole meeting. Councillor Russell Brewer pointed out there was a motion in June 2010 that directed staff to work with Powell River Cycling Association (PRCA) to develop a community cycling master plan and prepare a report for council’s consideration. “That’s over three years ago,” he said.
Subsequently, the city held an open house in March 2011 to obtain feedback from the public on a cycling plan and a preliminary draft plan was prepared that summer, Brewer said. “That was over two years ago now,” he said. “We are kind of addressing cycling and the network plan in the official community plan, but we all know that won’t give us a cycling network plan. That’s just general objectives and vision.”
The city needs a plan to take “real action on alternative transportation as it relates to cycling,” Brewer said. “We need a plan that’s detailed, has a phased outline of work that needs to be completed and some cost estimates, because this can’t be managed off the side of staff’s desk; there’s too much for them to do.”
Funds could come from the community works reserve, Brewer pointed out. As well, PRCA has a six-person steering committee specifically for working on cycling infrastructure and a plan, Brewer added, which is ready to work with the city. A PRCA representative rode the proposed phase one bike route with engineering staff at the end of May.
Staff have recommended that before further expansion of the cycling network within the city, phase one should be monitored over a period of a year to determine the efficiency of the route, the overall usage and the efficiency and safety of different sectors of the route.
