Bike Regina 'extremely disappointed' with city's proposed budget

Members of the cycling community, through Bike Regina, are expressing disappointment with the city's proposed 2016 budget, noting that expected spending appears to have been dropped.

"We were extremely disappointed to observe cuts to previously planned cycling infrastructure," Sara Maria Daubisse, president of Bike Regina, said in a presentation to members of city council.

Daubisse, and Bike Regina vice-president Jon Pradinuk, are among several delegations scheduled to address council Monday as part of the 2016 budget approval process.

Bike Regina's presentation focused on cycling as a mode of transportation.

According to the group, a number of projects they thought would be undertaken in 2016 were not mentioned in the proposed budget. They expected to see support for a bikeway study for an area south of the city's downtown core. They also thought 2016 would be the year for an extension of bike lanes on Lorne Street.

"The removal of planned cycling projects from the budget and the failure to implement planned improvements identified in the past three budget meetings leads Regina's cyclists to feel that improving the cycling environment in Regina is a negligible priority for this council," the group said.

Bike Regina noted that members of city council and the city administration have been open to making improvements to meet the needs of cyclists. As an example, the group applauded plans to consider bike lanes in a study on winter maintenance (although the study will not take place until late 2016).