As reported in last week’s Eagle (page 4), the bike lanes along Glenbow Drive and Railway Street are finished, but a number of people are raising doubts about their value and the decision to add them at the current locations.
The lanes, which run along both sides of Glenbow Drive to the Fifth Avenue intersection and condense into shared lanes along Railway Street, have prompted some concerns among residents.
Ben Clarke, a cyclist and European ex-pat, said he’s not outright opposed to bike lanes, but wonders about the lanes’ purpose since he hasn’t seen many cyclists on the road to begin with. Clarke understands the “build it and they will come” argument, he continued, but still questions if the cycling traffic numbers are enough to have justified the lanes.
Dan Nguyen wrote in a Facebook message of concerns about car parking for the Cochrane Alliance Church clogging up the new lane.
“All along that road, on the weekends particularly, church goers park on that road, which will inhibit cyclists to even use the lane paid for by the town.
“Bike lanes are something that Cochrane desperately need, but it shouldn’t make it more inconvenient, unsafe, or just downright impractical for commuters,” Nguyen expressed in the message.
Confusion also abounded about the painted bike symbols on Railway Street.
Michelle Munford commented on a Facebook post, “They end suddenly at 5 th ave [sic] with a large bike stencil in the middle of the road....what does that mean? Bikes now have the right of way? I have seen too many near misses at the glen bow/5th ave intersection and I can see it getting worse.”
Rick Deans, manager of infrastructure with the Town of Cochrane, responded to a number of these concerns.
The symbols, for instance, are there to let road users know that cyclists and the motorists now share the road, not that they now have the right of way, Deans said.
He explained that due to some of the on-street constraints such as width, curves and pre-existing parking, they couldn’t create a full-length bike lane continuing along Railway Street and had to opt for a shared lane.
He said the lanes were built according to the standards set in Transportation Association of Canada Bikeway Traffic Control Guidelines for Canada – 1.5 metre in width with 0.5 m buffer – while the travelling or driving lane width was an average of 3.5 m (with a minimum of 3.3 m).
As for why Glenbow was selected, Deans said the road was already being repaved and thus the painting of the bike lanes was incorporated as part of the road’s rehabilitation.
“Targeting for commuting and cycling purpose isn’t our primary focus, our primary focus is always the renewal aging infrastructure first and foremost.”
He said the expense of painting the lines was already included the road’s repainting.
As for the potential parking conflict at the church, Deans said they established a separate parking zone beside the bike lanes but acknowledged that they will be examining how the configuration works for both cyclist and driver alike.
“We want to learn from this experience. We want to understand both the positive and the negative feedback from the users.”
People can email the Town of Cochrane with their feedback on the new bike lanes.
“It is paint on a road so certainly changes can be made, if required.”
