10th Street bike lane expansion plan irks city councillor

A city councillor says he is not happy that a controversial bike lane in northwest Calgary is going to be extended.

One lane of vehicle traffic was taken out to make room for the 10th Street bike lane.

Currently that lane ends at Fifth Avenue, but planned improvements in the Kensington area include extending the 10th Street bike lane to Third Avenue.

The idea is to make it easier for cyclists to connect with a bike lane farther south on 9A Street, which then takes them into the downtown core.

But Coun. Sean Chu, who has been a vocal opponent of bike lanes, says extending the lane will add to traffic congestion in the neighbourhood.

“Especially vehicles driving downtown on 10th Street. As right now, you see the traffic is already jammed every morning and every evening so, is that necessary to do that? So as a councillor, we have to ask tough questions,” he said.

However, Bike Calgary director Dale Calkins says the short extension to the bike lane likely won’t affect traffic very much while making the route much safer for cyclists.

 “They have to cross three lanes of very fast, very busy traffic and it can be quite intimidating especially for new riders,” he said.