Victoria

The Comox Valley has an official plan to facilitate cycling for transportation. Local cycling advocates, however, say its goals aren’t always reflected in the actions of its political leaders. Wilf Dreher, chair of the Comox Valley Cycling Coalition’s technical committee, explained:

“The four local governments are represented on a regional task force trying to coordinate the cycling planning initiatives across the region … The task force process has resulted in the designation of most of the arterial roads as designated cycling routes, but the designation is meaningless. Except for a few “share the road” signs, no actual improvements have ever been made to these routes, (and) some requests have been specifically rejected.”

The Comox Valley is home to 58,824 people and is made up of three municipalities (Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland) plus a number of unincorporated areas surrounding the three urban centers. The whole area (1,725 sq. km/666 sq. miles) makes up the Comox Valley Regional District (the fourth local government). Lately, when it comes to bicycles, one road in Courtenay has been hogging the spotlight.

Cliffe Avenue runs through the town center, providing access to the downtown core from the south. This April, a $4 million plan to add another northbound lane for cars came under fire when council didn’t include bike lanes in the project, despite it being an official bike route.

According to Derek Richmond, the City of Courtenay’s manager of engineering, the issue came down to funding and timing.

“There were three parties involved in this: federal, provincial and municipal, so there were time restrictions (due to deadlines for federal stimulus infrastructure funding).”

Richmond said that the city bought what land it could to expand the road, but the additional room to put in bike lanes simply wasn’t available.

“If that point (dedicated bike lanes) was to be pushed … the project would not go forward at all. We would not get the project done in time to spend the allocated funds.”

Richmond said the current situation isn’t necessarily permanent, but adding bike lanes would have to wait for another phase of the project. That could be as much as 20 years away.

For Councilor Ronna-Rae Leonard, who supported the idea of bike lanes along Cliffe Avenue, the issue is one of long-term vision and short-term safety.

“While we were being told there wasn’t sufficient room to accommodate cyclists, in the next breath they were saying, ‘in the future, we see a need for another lane for cars.’ What that does is speak to me of a lack of appreciation for accommodating cyclists now, so they become part of the norm and part of our transportation infrastructure, to reduce the need for more pavement.”

The nearby Riverway multi-use trail, which parallels Cliffe Avenue, has been suggested as an alternate route for cyclists, but Dreher and other advocates, as well as Leonard, don’t think mixing commuter cyclists, pedestrians, dog-walkers and slow-moving recreational riders is a good idea.

“The commuters just rip along,” said Leonard. “It’s not a safe alternative for the pedestrians.”