Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack is defending the city’s approach to bike lanes, but said he’s willing to collaborate with the province as it crafts new rules on cycling infrastructure.
“I would prefer not to have any legislation, because I think we’ve been very thorough in how we’ve developed it,” Knack said.
Province Eyes Bike Lane Bill
News came last week that transportation minister Devin Dreeshen was working to put in controls for when bike lanes could be built in cities, and might even be aiming to remove some existing ones. At a Monday news conference, Dreeshen confirmed his office was looking to table a new bike lane bill in the fall.
Edmonton’s mayor said the bill isn’t needed, but he’d rather work with the province and be collaborative. He added that he and the transportation minister met last week to speak on the issue. Knack said he walked away feeling “encouraged” and said that Dreeshen committed to making data-informed decisions. Knack said the city has been making decisions based on evidence since the first bike lane was installed over a decade ago.
More Drivers Mean More Space Needed, Minister Says
The government’s main concern, Dreeshen said, is when bike lanes take away driving lanes from motorists. He cited a demand for space as the province grew by more than 400,000 new drivers in the last six years. “When you take that lane away, that has a whole bunch of cascading effects on people that live in that area,” Dreeshen said, adding that it affects parking, can make it difficult for seniors to get around, and affects emergency vehicles.
Dreeshen said he would be focused on “proactive” bike lane planning, but confirmed that the government might be reactive with “poorly placed bike lanes” in Edmonton and Calgary.
Knack said he would agree with the minister. “We’re not looking to take away lanes of traffic on busy arterial roadways. That’s not how the city of Edmonton has been doing this,” he said.
Plans Raise Questions on Provincial Overreach
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also attempted to craft laws involving city bike lanes. His government worked to remove three major ones in Toronto, but was halted when an Ontario court ruled the decision was unconstitutional. Sandeep Agrawal, a professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, said Dreeshen’s plans sound very similar to what the Ford government did. He also said that legislating bike lanes, among other things, is well within the scope of the province. “Municipalities are creatures of their respective provinces, and the province can pretty much do anything it wants,” Agrawal said. But with cities becoming more populated, and expanding the current road network being costly, he said, there are limits to what can be done to maximize the space for transportation.
