Lisa Helps Highway, Cindy Peckham, Feb/27/2018
The
problem is not the bike lanes; it's the bike lanes. They came too soon, without
warning, and without operating instructions. In short, they were poorly
executed, and ill-timed. Victoria wasn’t ready for their construction, or
opening, and there wasn’t enough public consultation, or adequate critical
information exchange. A project of this magnitude that impacts so many citizens
needs communication to be front and center in its priorities at all times.
Even today, 10 months after the first corridor on Pandora opened, many cyclists
and motorists still do not understand how the lanes operate.
The
corridors opened under a plethora of activity from the public: anger from local
businesses for not being consulted, complaints from motorists over traffic pattern
changes, and cheers from cyclists and pedestrians alike. But some suggest that
perhaps no one could be heard cheering as loudly as cyclist enthusiast and
Victoria Mayor, Lisa Helps. In fact, the newly minted Pandora bike lane
corridor has been affectionately named after her as the Lisa Helps
Highway because it runs from Fernwood where her home is located, to
City Hall, presumably where she works.
Mayor
Helps obsession with the bike lane project has been presented to the public as
an initiative aimed at protecting Victoria citizens health and the environment.
Protection that comes at a pretty hefty price tag. The city originally set
aside $7.75 million for the project but the estimate of costs has now almost
doubled to $14.5 million, and this is just for the first phase of the project,
which works out to roughly $2.7 million per kilometer.
Costs
aside, infrastructure, such as the bike lanes are a great investment for a
city, and many places all over the world already have them, such as Paris,
Dublin, and Montreal to name just a few. They’re culturally enriching and will
promote the very things they’re supposed to. Healthier life styles, and
environmental sustainability. And perhaps the most compelling reason to
invest in them is citizen safety. Cyclists in their own lanes keep
everyone safe.
But bike
lanes are not going to solve the problems that growth has created. Growth is a
good thing, but Victoria needs solid plans in place to deal with the amplified traffic congestion, the increased social problems and the critical housing
shortage.
The bike
lane project itself seems to be a distraction from more critical issues that
require city council’s immediate attention, and require financial
investment. It would perhaps be prudent for council to invest some time and
energy into these issues, see to the completion of other projects, like the
Johnson Street Bridge, and shelf the bike lanes for now. Bike lanes, by
comparison are kind of a luxury.
Links to
sources used/consulted:
https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/mayor-apologizes-over-lack-of-consultation-on-fort-street-bike-lanes-1.3280102
http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/transportation/cycling/biketoria-pandora-ave.html
http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/keep-unpopular-downtown-bike-lanes-until-2018-city-hall-advises
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