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Cycle club urges council to address ‘dangerous’ Campbell River roadway

Cycle club says the end of the bike lane along Highway 19A is a barrier to people getting downtown
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The bike lane comes to an end just north of Hidden Harbour along Higway 19A, putting cyclists in an unsafe position. The River City Cycle Club is urging council to reconfigure the road in this area.

A local cycling club is urging city council to address a section of the Old Island Highway that it says is a danger to cyclists and a “barrier” to those trying to get downtown.

The area in question is where the cycling lane and Sea Walk abruptly end at Hidden Harbour.

“The road narrows, forcing cyclists and cars to share a single lane with no bicycle lane,” said Sandra Milligan and Mercedes Hayduk, on behalf of the River City Cycle Club, during a presentation to city council Monday evening. “Cyclists must navigate a steep hill. Some cyclists find they are not able to maintain speed up the hill, and must dismount, putting them fully into the path of vehicles.”

Milligan said it’s a frightening situation for the cyclists who choose to stay on the roadway.

“It’s loud and it’s scary,” said Milligan who demonstrated how in a nine second cycling video, six cars went by.

In order to avoid vehicle traffic, cyclists have to ride on the sidewalk, forcing them into an illegal situation, and into the path of pedestrians.

“It is not comfortably wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians, forcing pedestrians towards the road and cyclists onto the uneven grass surface. If they have to dismount, remounting to continue the ride can be impossible until the top of the hill.

“In the time I spent on site, every single cyclist went up on to the sidewalk. It is illegal to cycle on a sidewalk,” Milligan said. “Alternatively, they don’t go up the hill.”

Milligan said she consistently sees cyclists end their ride at the bottom of the hill at Hidden Harbour. She even spoke with one young family who intended to ride to the pier for ice cream but instead, camped out at the picnic table at the end of the Sea Walk because of the lack of a bike lane.

“The hill is a significant barrier to cyclists entering downtown,” Milligan added, noting Hidden Harbour is “the end of the ride for many cyclists.”

The club is hoping, though, that a city infrastructure project in the area will be the catalyst for improvements to the cycling lane.

The city is applying to the Federal Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund to upgrade the waterfront sewer system and the club is hopeful that the funding could be stretched. If not, they said they would like to see the city look for other sources of funding so that cycling improvements can be done concurrently with the sewer upgrade.

“If the application is successful, it is our hope that the city will take this opportunity of construction to reconfigure a section of Highway 19A that is currently quite dangerous for cyclists to navigate and is a barrier to many cyclists wanting to access downtown Campbell River,” Milligan and Hayduk said.

Following the pair’s presentation – on a motion from Coun. Colleen Evans – council asked city staff to report back to council on the feasibility of bike lanes between Hidden Harbour and the Maritime Heritage Centre along Highway 19A.

Evans agreed that the sewer project does present the ideal opportunity to look at improving cycle infrastructure in that area.

“With the sewer project and the opportunity that we would be digging up the road, this is timely to consider what the options may be,” Evans said.

Milligan and Hayduk noted that improving cycling infrastructure will help the city in trying to achieve the following goals laid out in the city’s Sustainable Official Community Plan:

  • Reduce the 2007 Green House Gas production levels by 25 per cent by 2020.
  • That at least 12 per cent of all trips to work are made by walking, cycling or transit by 2020.
  • Enhance the city’s road network to improve mobility and safety for all users by 2020.