City staff want Richmond-Adelaide bike lane to extend to Parliament

City staff plan to recommend expanding the pilot project of downtown separated cycle tracks.

Thestar.com
May 10, 2015
By Ben Spurr

Cyclists may soon be able to cut a path from one side of downtown to the other, riding in their own protected lanes.

City staff will recommend that the pilot project of separated cycle tracks on Richmond and Adelaide Sts. be extended east to Parliament, which would carve space for riders through the heart of the traffic-clogged financial district.

Last year, cycle tracks were installed on Richmond and Adelaide on the west side of downtown, between Bathurst and Simcoe/York. The new extension would be about 1.8 km long, and connect to the Sherbourne cycle track in the east.

Jacquelyn Hayward Gulati, the city’s manager of cycling infrastructure, said a survey conducted by her department “found that the (Richmond-Adelaide) cycle tracks are highly supported by cyclists, but also appreciated by the majority of the drivers, including local businesses and property owners.”

“So we’ve had a lot of request to extend,” she said.

Although there were some initial hiccups, the separated lanes have proved popular. Shortly after they were installed, ridership on Adelaide doubled from about 460 cyclists per eight-hour period to about 900. Gulati expects that ride counts scheduled for later this month will show that use has climbed even higher.

She plans to table a report recommending the eastward extension at the June meeting of the public works committee. If approved by council, the tracks would be constructed this fall after the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. A city spokesperson could not immediately say how much the project would cost. Council is expected to decide in summer 2016 whether to make the entire Richmond-Adelaide pilot project permanent.

Evan Weinberg, of the Financial District Business Improvement Area, said his group “is very supportive of improving access into the core,” and “cycling is a part of that.” But he’s expressed concern to the city about potential conflicts on the south side of Adelaide, where delivery trucks need frequent access to businesses at Scotiabank Plaza and First Canadian Place.

“We need to make sure, from a safety perspective, that we’re keeping the cyclists and the trucks somewhat separate, while also improving the cycling through the area,” he said.

Urban cycling consultant Yvonne Bambrick said extending the cycle tracks would be “a tremendous asset for all the people that want to be commuting by bike, or just getting from A to B.” She said the existing cycle tracks have made Richmond and Adelaide safer for riders. “They were almost no-go zones before.”

As part of the pilot, dedicated bike lanes on Peter St. between Queen and King will also be installed this year.