A majority of Victoria’s city council voiced approval of new two-way bike lanes on Fort Street.
All councilors except for Councillor Pamela Madoff supported the motion, which is expected to pass in a final vote tonight.
UPDATE | Victoria councilors gave the green light for a separated bicycle corridor on Fort Street Thursday, despite considerable opposition. Council is promising to spend an extra $500,000 to save an additional eight car parking stalls.
An Ongoing Issue
Bike lanes in Victoria continue to divide public opinion, but Mayor Lisa Helps hasn’t wavered in her support of cycling infrastructure.
“There’s going to be a necessary tension no matter how much we engage… It will take time for all road users to get used to the change,” Helps said during the meeting [But] I’m very worried about humanity as a species if we can’t get used to not turning on right a red light.”
“Every city that builds these [bike lanes] sees ridership go up and retail sales also go up along the corridor,” Helps told CHEK News earlier this week.
Businesses along Fort Street voiced complaints of inadequate consultation for this phase of the project. Main concerns include the elimination of traffic lanes and parking spots. Earlier this year Mayor Lisa Helps wrote letters of apology to over a hundred merchants along the street.
Amendment Adds Parking
In an attempt to appease local drivers and businesses, Helps added an amendment to the bike lane proposal that would maintain eight parking spots and one taxi stand on the 600 block of Fort Street.
Those parking spots will mean the removal of some trees, streetlamps, and space for pedestrians, but council members agreed that compromise was worth making.
Construction costs of the additional parking spots will be paid off over the next decade through parking meter revenue.
Crash Raises Concerns
The Times Colonist reported that a serious crash occurred in the Pandora separated bike lane on Monday.
Numerous close calls between cyclists and drivers have taken place as commuters adapt to the new bike infrastructure. However, this appears to be the first reported serious accident since the Pandora lanes’ unveiling in early May.
At 11:55 am, a van entering the McDonald’s parking lot stopped suddenly in the two-way bike lane. William Hoover, who had just gone through a green light on the Vancouver Street intersection, braked too late. He crashed into the vehicle, suffering a separated shoulder and torn cartilage.
“[The Van] lurched forward toward the bike lanes, but then stopped. There’s a big sign that says yield to bicyclists. So I had the right of way,” Hoover told the Times Colonist.
