Cycling rights of way to UVic

Bike lanes eyed for McKenzie, Pat Bay

By Roszan Holmen - Saanich News


It’s handout time and that means cycling infrastructure for Saanichites.

On Monday night, council approved three applications for provincial grants to help build new bike routes.

Though twice unsuccessful at securing funding for cycling infrastructure along McKenzie Avenue, the municipality is hoping its third application’s a charm.

“The off-McKenzie bike route is a significant route for the University of Victoria community,” said Coun. Judy Brownoff, who asked that this request be prioritized above the others. “We’ve been lobbied for a number of years to get cycling along McKenzie.”

The UVic Student Society chair, Caitlin Meggs, is glad to hear campus bike access is back on council’s agenda.

“Many, many students live in Gordon Head. I, myself, used to live in Gordon Head and it is really dangerous biking up and down McKenzie Avenue,” Meggs said. “It’s very busy traffic and almost no room for bikes.”

The challenges of building cycling routes along the high-traffic, narrow road are numerous, staff said in its report. The solution would be to reroute bikes along a winding path starting on Cedar Hill Road, moving along Palo Alto Street and then Midgard Avenue before ending at the university campus. The whole project is estimated to cost $460,000 -- money council would like to see come from the LocalMotion grant program.

UVic has made efforts to be a cycling-friendly campus, said Coun. Dean Murdock. “We should be making every effort to facilitate a shift like that which the university is attempting to undertake.”

Creating a cycling-friendly Pat Bay Highway was council’s other order of business.

The municipality will apply for a $250,000 grant through the Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program -- funds council has agreed to match.

Called the Douglas Connector, the path would use shared roadways and dedicated bike lanes running from Darwin Avenue to Haliburton Road, running parallel to the highway.

“This will create another interesting connection route for residents to get out further,” said Brownoff. “We had discussed with the Ministry (of Transportation) for a number of years trying to get access but have been turned down. Now they’re on side with the new plans.”

Coun. Vic Derman added he’d like to see the width of cycling lanes increased from 1.5 metres to two, as is done in Copenhagen.

rholmen@saanichnews.com