Greater Sudbury's long-term plan to make it easier to get around the city without using your car is moving ahead, including plans to create a nine-kilometre dedicated bike route connecting Notre Dame Avenue and Paris Street.
Unlike the bike lanes that are part of some city streets, the Paris-Notre Dame Bikeway will be separate from the road, and will run from Turner Avenue in the north of the city, to Regent Street in the south.
Marisa Talarico, the city's active transportation co-ordinator, said the bikeway will link up with existing routes when it's completed.
“There's a section of the bikeway that was built in 2017 on Paris Street, between York Street and Walford Road,” Talarico said. “And on Second Avenue, there are cycle tracks, as well, on the reconstructed portion.
“But this project is going to be a little different because we've incorporated more space behind the curb, so there more of a buffer, and we're looking at some enhanced landscaping. We've heard from people that they still don't like being so close to the curb.”
Bicycle lanes are only being being on less busy streets, where motorists and cyclists can share the road more easily. But for main thoroughfares, Talarico said the goal is to ensure there's enough separation between cars and bikes.
“So we're trying to incorporate what we call a buffer behind the curb, so there's a little more space there for people who are on bikes,” she said. “Paris and Notre Dame are big arterial roads in our city – they move a lot of traffic. So just about nobody is going to feel safe riding their bike in mixed traffic.”
The city has $450,000 to spend on the final design for the bikeway, part of $1.1 million in funding from the province earmarked for such projects. But the Progressive Conservative government has cancelled the fund – called the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program – so other funding sources will have to be found to build the bikeway once planning is complete.
“These are obviously much more expensive than painted lines on the road,” Talarico said. “Right now we're just in the design stage, so we don't have a good handle on the construction cost.
“The design of this project will be finished by the end of 2019 and then construction of future segments will be based on council budget approval.”
While there's some uncertainty, she said councillors have been supportive of the project and hopes they will support the business case for actual construction.
And the bikeway meshes well with changes planned this fall for Greater Sudbury Transit, which is changing its routes and policies in hopes of boosting ridership.
Cyclists are being encouraged to strap their bikes to the front of buses, allowing them to mix their methods of transportation.
“That's the reason why we're pursuing this, to provide more travel mode choice for residents,” Talarico said. “We want to make cycling a viable transportation option and it's going to coincide nicely with the updates being completed to the transit system as well.”
A look at what the city has to offer cyclists:
- Signed Bike Routes with Edgelines - 22.5 km (Examples: Lansing Avenue, Algonquin Road)
- Bike Lanes - 14 km (Examples: Howey Drive, Martindale Road)
- Cycle Tracks - 4 km (Examples: Paris Street, Second Avenue)
- Paved Shoulders - 35+ km (Examples: Main Street (Val Caron), Capreol Road)
- Non-motorized, off-road trails: 100+ km (Examples: found here)
