New cycling lanes installed in Saskatoon's downtown

Saskatoon cyclists have a pair of new protected bike lanes at their disposal after fresh paint and new signage reconfigured a portion of Fourth Avenue downtown.

As part of the City of Saskatoon protected bike lane pilot project, city crews installed two new dedicated cycling lanes along Fourth Avenue from 19th to 24th Streets. The additions are an extension of the 23rd Street protected bike lanes which the city installed last year.

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For Saskatoon Cycles co-chair Cathy Watts, the new lanes are a sign of progress as the city continues to unfold its larger active transportation plan.

"I'm thrilled to bits to see this, this is a really neat protected bike lane in Saskatoon and it goes enough blocks that it's really worthwhile going on," Watts said. "It makes you feel really safe on the bike lane."

The paint was still drying on the new bike lanes on Sunday, but downtown cyclists were already testing out the new infrastructure.

The new protected bike lanes do take away one lane of traffic on Fourth Avenue in both directions and a handful of parking spaces have been taken away. But the lanes create a clear separation between motorists and cyclists, something that should promote cycling downtown, Watts said.

"I don't think we have a strong culture of safe cycling ... so there's a bit of a conflict between bikes and pedestrians and cyclists and drivers. This is good for everyone," she said.

On June 13, Saskatoon city council is releasing a report on how it intends to move ahead on a citywide active transportation network.