Two Thunder Bay councilors want to scrub the painted bikes lanes off the city’s streets.
At-Large councillors Larry Hebert and Ken Boschoff have both announced plans to make the streets safer for motorists and bicyclists. While they may differ in some ways, both councilors agree that getting rid of the bike lanes is a good idea.
Hebert, a bike enthusiast himself, plans to put in a motion on May 7 to have the controversial lanes taken off the roads completely. He said he’s concerned about the bike lanes because he doesn’t think they make the roads safer for anyone.
“I’m not against (cyclists),” Hebert said.
“If they want to be on the road that’s fine, they’re vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act. But I would really like to see us take the bike lanes off. I think it is dangerous and we’ll run into a problem in the long run. Again, not against bike lanes, but I don’t want to see them on the streets.”
The bike lanes have caused a lot of confusion and there needs to be more education, he added.
Hebert suggests they allow bikes on sidewalks despite it being currently illegal.
He said the city should widen sidewalks and pave them. Hebert said he didn’t think the city has had that many accidents involving bikes on sidewalks, and that most aren’t even reported.
He added he has also seen people using motorized wheelchairs on the bike lanes.
Boschoff had a different approach.
He announced a possible police blitz for cyclists riding on sidewalks.
Boschoff said there are a lot of accidents on sidewalks involving bikes and it’s made even worst when cyclists go against traffic. Most drivers don’t expect someone coming from the right side.
Boschoff said he wants to make the streets safer for cyclists and drivers, but without bike lanes.
“I see some kind of education blitz,” Boschoff said. “We’re going to be stopping you and asking where your helmet is, why you are on the sidewalk and there are alternatives. I’m amazed there hasn’t been more fatalities.”
He said he would like to get rid of the bike lanes because they are confusing to everyone.
Both councilors agreed that the bike lane at Victoria Avenue only caused more confusion for motorists. The plan is to make the four-lane stretch of road into two lanes.
Boschoff said Victoria Avenue is a disaster.
“I bike it and I ride it and I just feel it is way too confusing,” he said.
Mike Vogrig, project engineer with the city, said he knows there been a number of issues that have come with in regards to the two-lane plan but the design is meant to accommodate 5,000 vehicles per day. Victoria Avenue at certain intersections fell into that category.
He said the road was probably over designed, which is why it was a good candidate to have it brought to two lanes and have other modes of transport available like bike lanes.
“A lot of the information that’s coming to us is a lot of emotional responses in respect to the bike lanes,” Vogrig said.
“People don’t like them and there’s a big uproar. I think we have to be careful when we look at information that’s based on anecdotal evidence versus information we get from say for example accidental reports.”
It all boils down to what the city wants to do with Victoria Avenue, he said. It will either be a stretch of road that’s the most traffic efficient or allows for multiple modes of transportation despite people waiting a bit longer, he said.
He added they want to compile all the information they have and present a case to city council.
Active Transportation coordinator Adam Krupper said there’s still some misconceptions for the rules on the road.
For instance, children are allowed to ride on the sidewalk but not adult bicyclists. Motor wheelchair users aren’t allowed to be in bike lanes and depending on the circumstances can be fined.
He said bicyclists are still concerned about being hit by a vehicle and aren’t using bike lanes as much now but removing them would undo all the hard work that’s been accomplished.
“We see a positive trend and that’s what we want to see,” Krupper said. “We want to see fewer accidents and more cyclists. If that’s what we’re achieve then it would be a shame to get rid of (bike lanes).”
The city adopted an active transportation plan to encourage people to use bikes while decreasing accidents. About 70 per cent of accidents occur while on the sidewalk while 13 per cent are on the road.
The bike lanes are showing that there are fewer vehicle and cyclist collisions, he said.
