Council gives green light to transportation study

In a surprise move, city council gave the green light to a $350,000 transportation study Monday night after debating the need for bicycle parking throughout the city. 

What began as discussions about a proposed update to a policy on bike rack infrastructure, quickly shifted to talks about the needs of pedestrians, motorists, cyclists and any other transportation mode. 

"When you take into consideration the discussions we've been having around the council chamber the last couple of months ... before we start adjusting policies, we really need to have that active transportation study done," said Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac. 

Council's policy on bike parking allows anyone to ask for new infrastructure in their neighbourhoods or business improvement areas, but the cost of that infrastructure rests with the person or group requesting it. 

Any request for bike parking within the boundaries of a business improvement area must come from the board of the BIA, which will then have to pay for installation and maintenance of the infrastructure. Outside a BIA, installation costs will be paid for by the person requesting it, but maintenance costs will be covered by the city.

Before making any changes to the city's policy, Gignac wanted to take a larger look at overall transportation issues. She convinced her fellow councillors to support the study, which will be paid for from reserve funds.

The move comes well ahead of next year's budget discussions because Gignac wanted to avoid letting the transportation study compete with other major funding projects.