2 new bike lanes slated for downtown Calgary

A couple more streets in downtown Calgary will have new bike lanes installed this summer, city officials say.

Bike courier Jeremy Ennis said he welcomes the new lanes and hopes authorities step up enforcement to give cyclists their share of the road.

"It doesn't matter if they let people drive in them and park their cars in the bike lanes, but any infrastructure is good," Ennis said.

The new on-street lanes will be created along Sixth Street and Seventh Street S.W., creating a connection for cyclists to the Bow River Peace Bridge.

The city will reveal detailed plans for the new bike lanes at an open house next week. But already the project is generating debate.

"I think it would be a huge mistake. After people are done parking, there's only two lanes. You take one lane away and you're down to one lane," said motorist Jason Hayden. 

"So one lane for vehicles and one lane for bikes, I don't see how that works."

In all there are more than a dozen bikeway projects planned for Calgary in 2012, a city official said.