‘You can’t simply paint bicycle symbols on a shoulder and call it a bike lane’
A bike lane symbol painted on University Avenue this week. (Laura Meader/CBC) Some P.E.I. cycling groups are raising concerns about what they say are dangerously narrow bike lanes in Charlottetown.
The bike lanes on University Avenue, for example, are some of the narrowest Jordan Bober has ever seen. The executive director of Cycling P.E.I. says these lanes are not safe when both cyclists and vehicles are navigating such a busy street. Get the news you need without restrictions. Download our free CBC News App .
"You can’t simply paint bicycle symbols on a shoulder and call it a bike lane. There’s a lot of consideration that needs to go into making it safe," Bober said.
The provincial Highway Traffic Act says passing cars need to leave at least one metre of distance when passing a cyclist. But Bober said the bike lanes he’s seen on the Island don’t always make that possible.
Charlottetown could look to the National Association of City Transportation Officials in the U.S., Bober said, for guidelines and recommendations on how to construct safe bike lanes.
The association recommends a minimum width of about 1.8 metres (or six feet) for a conventional unidirectional bike lane.Beyond just width, however, Bober said a busy road like University Avenue could use additional measures to keep cyclists safe, such as a painted buffer line or solid dividing structure. Safety and congestion concerns The city does have a […]
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