Even as the City of Charlottetown seeks feedback on existing cycling lanes, it has plans to add more.
Cycling P.E.I. and the city have worked together to create a map of lanes within the city that is now available to see on the city’s website.
The city is also conducting pop-ups with cyclists to gain feedback on that map.
Mike Connolly, executive director of Cycling P.E.I., said more lanes are in the works.
He said the cycling path that stops at Maypoint Road will be brought down to connect with North River Road and there are plans to extend the path along Brackley Point Road, which now stops in front of the airport, down past the roundabout at the airport to the arterial highway.
Connolly added there are also plans to connect the Confederation Trail to the Brackley/airport roundabout through the Sherwood Road.
Coun. Terry Bernard, chairman of the public works committee that is responsible for cycling lanes, said despite all the work that has gone into creating lanes throughout the city the work is never done.
“That’s why we’re looking forward to the recommendations on the map,’’ Bernard said.
The next pop-up will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 8 where city staff will set up at the Victoria Park bike lane from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Another one will take place during Park(ing) Day, an international day when cities or community groups transform parking places into parks for a day to re-envision how public spaces can be used. This will take place on Kent Street, next to City Hall, on Friday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Bernard added that not only is the city keen on creating bike lanes but it will add multi-purpose pathways where possible. These pathways currently exist near the airport and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Not only are they wide enough for cyclists but also pedestrians, wheelchairs and rollerblades and they are paved, unlike the gravel floor of the Confederation Trail.
“Any place we have an opportunity to put in multi-purpose pathways we will. They’re wider and, in my opinion, they work out a lot better than sidewalks,’’ Bernard said.
Connolly also stresses that they don’t want to impact on existing infrastructure.
“We don’t want to take a road away from a car or a sidewalk from pedestrians,’’ Connolly said.
The map the city and Cycling P.E.I. completed not only displays main routes through the city but also connectors that link the main routes to smaller streets. It also shows how everything manages to connect city streets with the Confederation Trail and, ultimately, Victoria Park.
Anyone who wants to check out the cycling map can go to the city’s website at www.charlottetown.ca and link to it under recreation and leisure/trails and active transportation as well as on the sustainability pages under programs and initiatives and cycling in Charlottetown.
