City Uses Feedback to Pedal Forward on Cycling Master Plan

Those who attended Wednesday’s session agreed there is a long way to go to create a functional bike pathway system in the city but, the city is on the right track.

The goal is to make bicycle travel available for all people in Lethbridge and develop a more functional and attractive form of transportation.

Kristin Larkan, Manager of Youth Settlement Services at Lethbridge Family services, attended the evening session and said the fact that Lethbridge is heavily reliant on vehicles, puts young people at a disadvantage.

“Those who are young, for one thing, can’t get licenses until they get to a certain age and then those who are low income or their families don’t have access to vehicles, rely on bikes heavily to get to that first part time job, to get to school, to make sure that they can get to babysitting, or accessing recreational services that the city is already heavily investing in.”

Larkan notes that a lot more young people would use their bikes for transport but, they find it just isn’t safe, so they end up walking extensive distances.

Past feedback sessions noted that cycling demand revolves around where people live and play, and one of the top issues identified was that residents currently find cycling to be dangerous in this city.

Planners used past feedback from the university and college and other residents to create a “desire line” which shows where people would use routes. Planners then then combined the information to create an “opportunity corridor” and proposed various infrastructure
Session participant, Keith Pushor, describes cycling in Lethbridge as being vibrant and on the cusp of exploding but, he agreed the biggest challenge is the interaction between motorists and cyclists.

“Basically, as a motorist, you’re still not trained to recognize or see a cyclist on the road, and that’s probably going to be the biggest adjustment – you take a spin on the highway and it seems like there’s much more understood protocol there, than within the city.”

Adam St. Amant, the Project Manager for the Bikeways and Pathways Master Plan, says there has been a lot of interest in the project, with both individuals and community groups attending sessions. He is encouraging others to offer feedback on cycling challenges and opportunities – both in terms of what is working and where the city needs to improve. To participate, residents offer feedback online

More information on the Cycling Master plan can be found on the City’s website

An update on information that was derived from Wednesday night’s engagement session will be announced in the future.

by Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter) with files from Charlotte Morrit-Jacobs

City Uses Feedback to Pedal Forward on Cycling Master Plan

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