Cyclists in Greater Sudbury now have two boulevards where they can legally drive their bikes.
Meeting on Monday, members of the operations committee approved a resolution creating cycling areas on boulevards running along Paris Street – from Ramsey Lake Road to York Street – and on the south side of MacIsaac Drive, Long Lake Road to Algonquin Road.
Boulevards are the paved areas between sidewalks and curbs, created to store snow from plows in the winter. Last September, the city approved a plan to convert certain boulevards in the city to cycling as a cheap and quick way to boost the amount of bike infrastructure.
Joe Rocca, the city's traffic and asset management supervisor, said the boulevards must meet certain criteria to be eligible for the re-designation.
“For use as a cycling facility, an existing boulevard must have sufficient width and would ideally be retrofitted by adding appropriate paint markings, removing obstacles such as signs and ensuring curbs are designed and integrated at intersections to provide for safer cyclist movements,” Rocca said.
A retrofitted boulevard can also be called a “raised cycle track,” he said, which is formally defined as a cycling facility next to but separated from motor vehicle travel lanes to the level of the sidewalk.
“Opportunities to implement additional boulevard retrofits will be completed as required and as funds become available,” he said.
Notre Dame Avenue is on the list, and the cycle tracks will also be built into some road reconstruction projects, including the Second Avenue project, which has received approval from the province after three years of delays.
The boulevards will still be used for snow storage in winter, and won't be cleared for winter cyclists.
That didn't sit well with Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, who said it needs more discussion in future.
“There is some cycling going on in the winter – everyone sees them,” Landry-Altmann said. “So I'm a little surprised to hear that.”
