Victoria breaks ground on first protected bike lane

Dedicated traffic signals. Refuge areas for makingturns at intersections. A barrier to keep cars at a distance.These are theamenities cyclists in Victoria will soon enjoyat least ona few blocks of a downtown street.

Construction has started on the city's first two-wayprotected bike lane on Pandora Avenue in the city's downtown. While the lane itself isonly a few blocks long, it's part of a larger plandubbed Biketoriathat aims to vastly improve cycling infrastructure in theVancouver Island city.

"The whole Biketoria network of corridors is transformational for the city of Victoria,"saidBradDellebuurwith the city's engineering department."It is going to fundamentally change how you move around in the city."

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Thebike laneon Pandora Avenue, which is three metres wide, will allow cyclists to travel in both directions alongone side of the street. The entire cycling lane from Cook Street to Store Street will be separated from vehicle traffic by a physical barrier.

One lane of traffic will be eliminated on parts of the street to make room for the cyclists. In other sections, vehicle lanes will be narrowed or on-street parking will be removed.

The goal is to persuademore people to use cycling as a main modeof transportation by providing asafer space for bikes on city streets,Dellebuursaid.

Lanes address safety concerns

"People want to ride their bikes, but there's a large percentage that don't feel safe riding with moving traffic," he said.

"The physical separation will provide just onemore incentive for people to try biking as a way to get around town."

That'sbeen the experience of other cities that have moved ahead with protected bike lanes, said Edward Pullman with the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.

"When it gets you to your destination without having it end abruptly, so a complete network, certainly when we see those built, you do see large increases in the number of cyclists," Pullman said.

But persuadingmore people that cycling is a safe and efficient way to get around may nothappen until there is a full network of protected bike lanes in Victoria, he said.

"While Pandora is an excellent first step, we will need a bit more time to build out the rest of the route, and routes going not just into the downtown core, but going into the various communities around Victoria."

First phase to cost $8 million

The first phase of theBiketora plan calls for a minimum of 5.4 kilometresof protectedlanesin the downtown area by theend of 2018, andcomes at a cost of nearly $8 million.

Some parts of the plan havemet with stiff resistance fromfrom local businesses. However,the citysays the new bike laneswill put Victoria's downtown onpar with Vancouver.

The City of Victoria has received some provincial funding to help cover the cost of building protected bike lanes, but funding for cycling infrastructureremains a challenge for communities across the province, said Gord Johns, the NDP MP for Courtenay-Alberni.

Johns has introduced a privatemembers billcalling for a national cycling strategy that would create safety standards and set targets for improving bike infrastructure in all communities.

The bill was inspiredin part by the uneven distribution of safe cycling routes inisland communities, Johns said.

"There's been a lot of piecemeal work in terms of building safe bike trails in my riding," hesaid. "Other communities in my riding are just getting started."

With the federal government planning to roll out major infrastructure spending, Johns said a national cycling strategy could help ensure federal funds are earmarked for bike-related projects.

In Victoria, cyclists can expect to take their first ride on the new protected bike lane on Pandora Avenue next springwhen construction wraps up.