New bike lanes to give cyclists 'higher priority' in downtown Fredericton

New bike lanes could be coming to Fredericton's downtown core as early as 2018, improving active transportation and keeping cyclists safe on city streets. 

A one-way bike lane loop for cyclists, which city staff are calling a pilot project, would rearrange several streets, parking and loading areas in the downtown area.

Jon Lewis, the city's traffic engineer, said staff are looking at implementing a single-lane westbound bike lane on Queen Street, an eastbound bike lane on Brunswick Street with interconnections on Northumberland Carleton and Church streets.

"There's a great desire to be less car-centric as a city and give people more options in terms of what mode they want to choose, with cycling being one of those," he said.  

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Lewis said the city is also updating its municipal plan on how the city will develop in the next 20 to 30 years. 

"We have a terrific trail system but we don't have that final connection piece right now to get people to their destinations," he said.

"This aligns us more with what we want to achieve in our downtown, which is more pedestrian and cycling friendly … it's really about giving pedestrians and cyclists more of a higher priority through the downtown versus cars."

The proposed bike lane would go along Queen Street, between Regent Street and Northumberland Street, down Brunswick Street and over to Church Street, connecting north and south on Carleton Street.

"There's still going to be some issues on parking and loading," said Lewis, who proposed the plan at a transportation committee meeting on Tuesday.

"With the one-way loop, we've tried to minimize the impact as best we can."  

Changes will have to be made

The downtown cycling facilities report, shows the cycling lanes would mean cutting Queen Street down to one lane for traffic, turning Carleton Street into a one-way northbound street.

Brunswick Street would lose one of its three lanes. The two remaining lanes would also be narrower.

The bike lanes would also mean a loss of about 14 parking spots on Carleton Street and Church Street would lose about nine of its two-hour parking spaces.

Brunswick Street, however, would see an increase of about 30 parking spots. It would also increase about five loading zones on Queen Street, designated for vehicles to load and unload passengers. 

Small impact for drivers

In total, city staff looked at three options of how to implement bike lanes in the city's downtown. Lewis said the one-way bike lane loop would have the least impact on drivers.

"That said, during peak times there will be a little bit more delay on Queen Street and Brunswick Street for example," he said.

"The key is to try and make cycling more of a pleasurable and safe experience."

The elevated cycle lane is like the Rolls-Royce or the Cadillac of cycle lanes.-Benoit LeBlanc, Fredericton Active Transportation Coalition

The pilot project could start as early as 2018 or 2019 and running until 2020, becoming more permanent.

"We're proposing a lot of changes in lane widths and parking locations, in that respect it would be quite advantageous to start at the start of 2019," said Lewis.

Lewis did not reveal how much the new pilot project would cost. He did estimate a cost between $50,000 to $100,000, most of which would come from painting, signage and separation posts.

At the end of August, Fredericton police started enforcing laws that say cyclists have to wear helmets and cannot pedal their bikes along sidewalks.

Lewis said it's likely cyclists were on the sidewalks because they didn't feel safe cycling on city streets. He's hoping the proposed bike lanes will help reduce the number of cyclists on city sidewalks.

"If we have safer facilities for cyclists, that should encourage cyclists to use bike lanes versus biking on the sidewalk," he said.  

Good news for cyclists

Benoit LeBlanc, a member of the Fredericton Active Transportation Coalition, welcomed the news at Tuesday's meeting.

"By separating the lanes from traffic, with a certain amount of space, eventually opens up the possibility of elevating those cycle lanes," he said.

The elevated cycle lanes would create even more separation from traffic.  

 "The elevated cycle lane is like the Rolls-Royce or the Cadillac of cycle lanes," he said.

"That's what really brings people into the cycle lanes because then you're comfortable and you don't have to fear anything going into the downtown."  

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He said the way the downtown is set up, makes many cyclists nervous and he doesn't blame them for wanting to cycle on the sidewalks.  

"Let's say you have a lane of parked cars on your right and traffic on your left," he said.

"Any split second of a door opening can throw you into traffic and end your life."

Consultations with the public and downtown businesses are expected in the new year, but Lewis didn't have specific dates set.

Public consultations would be needed before Lewis could return to council with a more detailed plan.