City councillor wants data to show that Northland Drive isn't popular cycle route
CBC News | Posted: March 31, 2016 1:35 PM | Last Updated: March 31, 2016
Coun. Sean Chu calls 'horse manure' on Northland Drive bike lanes
The City of Calgary won't be counting bikes along Northland Drive N.W. — despite one councillor's campaign to prove those dedicated bike lanes aren't being used.
Coun. Sean Chu has long been critical of the bike lanes that were installed about a year and a half ago.
"I'm anti-nonsense. Being police officer for 21 years my tolerance level for, I gotta be very careful here what I say, horse manure is very low," said the Ward 4 councillor.
"If I see something, it smells like something, I'm gonna call it out."
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The N.W. cycling route that Chu is referring to as "horse manure" is not even in his Ward.
But the councillor said he drives along the route all the time and said he's heard from "lots of people who live in the area."
'My tolerance level for, I gotta be very careful here what I say, horse manure is very low." - Coun. Sean Chu
"People are actually angry about it because they never see a bike."
Thursday morning on the Calgary Eyeopener, Chu told CBC radio host David Gray that he can count the number of bikes that go along that route every day "with one hand."
City can't count bikes everywhere
Tom Thivener, the city's bike coordinator, says they only have 17 automated counters, worth a few thousand dollars each, which are being used on other lanes to provide daily numbers.
"Based on the amount of money we have, I can't say that we can do one of these devices on every single bike lane that we put around the city," Thivener said.
Chu says this suggests he's right.
"They say no and I can only guess the reason is that they know there's no number here to back their decision up."
Thivener says a bike count on Northland Drive is taken annually and the last count found 43 people cycling during a six hour period.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener