Calgary votes to delay First Street S.E. cycle track

Calgary’s council committee voted to delay the proposed two-way separated cycle track on First Street S.E. after five hours of deliberation at a meeting on Wednesday. The main issues cited included the track’s impact on traffic along the busy street and its roughly 3.7 million price tag.

The committee voted 4-4 against the cycle track.

The first cycle track along Seventh Street S.W. open last July. A more involved cycle track network plan for the downtown core was revealed earlier this month, which proposed two-way bike lanes for Eighth Street S.W., Fifth Street S.W., Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue and Twelfth Avenue and First Street S.E., which would travel through the city and directly connect the Elbow and Bow River pathways.

The First Street S.E. track is causing the most controversy so far because it’s a high-traffic area that sees nearly 25,000 vehicle trips a day. One traffic lane would need to be removed from the road in order to accommodate the cycle track. “Absolutely not,” said transportation committee chairman Coun. Shane Keating in the Calgary Herald report. “Is that the best place for both the bike and the car?”

The city’s councillors are schedule to reconvene to discuss the entire cycle track network plan in April.