1. Proposal:

The City of Prince George convert the painted bike lanes on Simon Fraser Avenue into separated bike

lanes.

2. Rationale:

Simon Fraser Ave. is unique in that it is a transportation corridor between two “choice” schools - L’ecole

College Heights and Polaris Elementary schools. As such students from the Gladstone area travel to

L’ecole College Heights to attend school and vice versa. Cycling (and using push scooters) on Simon

Fraser for these elementary students is dangerous because of the large amount of traffic on this Minor

Collector road and the inexperience of the young cyclists. Additionally the bike lanes are made from

water soluble paint and are difficult to see until June when they are repainted. Unfortunately many of

the younger students are simply prohibited from riding their bikes to school because of the risk or ride

on the sidewalk. The latter can result in near misses with pedestrians and clogging of the walkway. The

young cyclists which use and would use the separated bike lane make this proposal unique and

compelling.

In addition to student cyclists, Simon Fraser Ave. is a main thoroughfare for commuting and recreational

purposes for many cyclists who live in the Gladstone and Malaspina areas. This project would further

encourage cycling and make cycling safer. As shown in the image below separated bike lanes would tie

in well with the cycling/walking trail systems in North College Park, College Heights Secondary and

Gladstone areas.

Figure 1. College Heights trail system.

Creating bike lanes between Cowart Road and Eton Ave. provides an opportunity to address the parking

and cycling issue in this area. Currently vehicles are permitted to park in the painted bike lanes when

dropping off or picking up students from L’ecole College Heights. The volume of traffic and parking in

bike lanes makes cycling quite risky for young students and often results in them riding on the sidewalk

or not cycling at all. By removing the painted bike lanes and creating bike lanes cars could still park

without impeding cyclists and vice versa.

Figure 2. Photo showing cars in bike lane during after pickup at 2:30pm.

3. Existing road and bike lanes:

Simon Fraser Ave. currently has painted bike lanes on both sides of the street. Because they are painted

with water soluble paint (as per legal requirements) they are difficult to see until June when they are

repainted. The bike lanes are 1.3m wide and are adjacent to gutter pans which make the effective riding

area 1.6m wide. The car lanes are each 3.75m wide. As such half the street is 5.35m wide (1.3m bike

lane + 0.3m gutter pan + 3.75m car lane) and the total is about 10.75m. The street is classed as a “Minor

Collector” road which is intended “for the movement of people and goods between local roads and the

arterial road network, while providing some degree of access to adjacent properties”.

The east side of Simon Fraser Ave. has a sidewalk about 1.8m wide. The sidewalk does not appear to

have been repaved since originally created in 1977 and is in poor condition (large cracks and falling

apart).

The intersection at Simon Fraser Ave. and Cowart Road is a particularly busy area around 8:30am when

students are dropped off at L’ecole College Heights and commuters from College Heights, Gladstone and

Malaspina use Cowart Road to commute to work. It is also busy when students are picked up around

2:30pm although it is not as busy as in the morning because it does not coincide with the afternoon

commute.

Figure 3. Picture showing poor condition of sidewalk on Simon Fraser Ave. between Cowart Road and Eton Ave.

Figure 4. Picture showing poor condition of sidewalk on Simon Fraser Ave. between Cowart Road and Eton Ave

Figure 5. Existing bike lanes.

4. Option 1 – single separated bike lanes on both sides of Simon Fraser

The existing painted bike lanes could be turned into separated bike lanes using i) raised curbs or ii) curb

stops and delineators (tubular markers).

Figure 6. Picture of separated bike lane created with curb stops and delineators.

Raised curbs and curb stops can be as little as 20 cm wide which would still result in cars lanes 3.55m

wide. The City considers car lanes 3.5 - 4m wide safe for traffic limited to 50km/hr.

Advantages of single separated bike lanes include:

- The community (both cyclists and drivers) is familiar with the existing bike lanes.

- Bike lanes are either side of the street are more intuitive, particularly for a community that does

not have dual bike lanes.

- Single bike lanes more easily allow cars to turn right. This may be useful at the intersection at

Simon Fraser Ave. and Cowart Road.

- Single separated bike lanes have been successfully used in cities like Vancouver, Edmonton,

Calgary and Toronto.

Benefits include:

- Dedicated and protected space for bicyclists makes it an attractive facility for riders of all levels and ages.

- Lower implementation cost compared to street reconstruction by making use of existing pavement and drainage (if raised curbs and delineators used).

- Reduces or eliminates risk and fear of collisions with opening parked car doors and overtaking vehicles.

- Discourages parking in the bike lane. - Improves perceived safety for bicycle riders.1

Challenges with single separated bike lanes include:

- Snow removal is more difficult (time consuming) than with dual bike lanes. (This will be

negligible if a raised cycle track is created). Only smaller machines with less capacity to move

snow can access the narrower bike lanes and the single bike lanes reduce the ability to windrow

snow.2 That said, single separated bike lanes have been built in northern cities such as

Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. Additionally, curb separated bike lanes can be used for

snow storage and snow can later be removed.

- Cars leaving residences will affect cyclists on both sides of the street rather than just one side as

in the case with a dual bike lane.

Figure 7. Single separated bike lane at 835 Beatty St., Vancouver.

1 Source: https://altaplanning.com/separated-bike-lanes/ 2 Dual bike lanes are big enough for larger bobcats (e.g. 590 or 690) which can use blade, brooms and blowers.

Figure 8. Single separated bike lane in Toronto at Sherbourne St.

To make the bike lanes safer, regardless of whether single or dual lane, it is suggested that intersections

at Simon Fraser Ave. and Cowart Road, Trent Drive and Gladstone Drive be painted green. Green paint is

used by the City of Vancouver (and other cities) to raise awareness for motorists and for cyclists that

they are entering a potential area of conflict. This includes areas with higher than usual cycling activity

and intersections which are busier than most. Legally, the paint on the road does not change any laws.

Cyclists do not have more legal protection while on green pavement. However, it’s been found that

green paint on the roads raises awareness for everyone in the area.

Figure 9. Bike lane in Vancouver on 10th Ave between Cambie St. and Willow St.

Single separated bike lanes - Cowart Road to Eton Ave.

From Cowart Road to Eton Ave. separated bike lanes on either side of the street are proposed for the

same reasons mentioned above. However, instead of using existing bike lanes it is proposed to create

bike lanes. On the east side the sidewalk would be converted into a bike lane and the sidewalk relocated

in the grassy/dirt path area next to the existing sidewalk. On the west side the bike lane would be

located in the grassy area abutting the curb. On the east side curb stops and delineators may be desired

to separate cyclists and pedestrians.

The image below shows the existing bike lanes (adjacent to the car lanes).

Figure 10. Existing bike lanes

The image below shows the proposed separated bike lanes and relocated sidewalk.

Figure 11. Proposed bike lanes in grassy/dirt path areas.

Figure 12. Red arrow shows proposed location of bike lane on east side of Simon Fraser from Cowart Road to Eton Ave. The bike lane will be located on the existing sidewalk and the sidewalk relocated adjacent to its old location (as shown by the yellow arrow).

Figure 13. Red arrow shows proposed location of bike lane on east side of Simon Fraser from Cowart Road to Eton Ave.

It is important to note that this results in the car lane increasing in width to 5.05m (from 3.75m).

It also means that cars can now park without obstructing bike lanes and increasing risks to cyclists and

other users of bike lanes (e.g. push scooter).

Snow removal

The City of Calgary uses a John Deer 2420 with 48" broom to clear single separated bike lanes. The snow

is windrowed on the street or sidewalk for later collection. It is understood that a blower could also be

attached to the tractor which would allow the snow to be blown into a tandem or on neighbouring

lawns.

Figure 14. John Deere 2025R.

The City of Calgary District Manager of Roads Maintenance also mentioned that a sweeper could be

winterized with hopper to receive snow.

5. Option 2 – dual bike lanes

Alternatively, dual bike lanes could be located on the east or west side.

Figure 15. Dual bike lane on O'Connor Street, Ottawa.

Locating the lane on the east side is preferred for the following reasons:

- More streets would directly “feed” into the bike lanes. From Eton to Trent there are 6 roads on the west side and 4 roads on the east side (incl. Eton and Trent). From Trent to Gladstone there is 1 road on the west side (Gladstone) and 8 on the east.

- Cyclists coming from down Simon Fraser from Eton Ave. area will be able to access L’ecole

College Heights without interfering with traffic at the Simon Fraser Ave./Cowart Road

intersection.

- A sidewalk is already located on the east side.

Dual bike lane positives:

- Two direction cycle tracks at grade level are more cost effective than single lane cycle tracks due

to half the infrastructure material needs.

- Two direction cycle tracks are also wide enough to permit lower cost maintenance equipment

such as a pickup truck with a plow bade to maintain during the winter months.

- The half-mile Vancouver Dunsmuir Street cycle track cost 810,000 CAD ($769,500 US), or 306

CAD ($291 US) per foot. Vancouver cost information.3

Benefits include:

- Dedicated and protected space for bicyclists makes it an attractive facility for riders of all levels and ages.

- Lower implementation cost compared to street reconstruction by making use of existing pavement and drainage (if curb stops and delineators used).

- Reduces or eliminates risk and fear of collisions with opening parked car doors and overtaking vehicles.

- Improves perceived safety for bicycle riders.4

Dual bike lane challenges:

- Education on safe road crossing

- Collisions with oncoming cyclists and lane users.

5

3 Source: https://activelivingresearch.org/sites/default/files/Dill_Bicycle_Facility_Cost_June2013.pdf 4 Source: https://altaplanning.com/separated-bike-lanes/ 5 Source: https://activelivingresearch.org/sites/default/files/Dill_Bicycle_Facility_Cost_June2013.pdf

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Figure 16. Dual separated bike lane in Calgary at 15 Ave. SW and 5 St. SW.

Figure 17. Dual separated bike lane in Edmonton at 100 Ave. and 103 St. created using curb stops and delineators.