Courtenay, B.C., courts bike commuters with new lanes

On Monday, Courtenay, B.C., city council voted in favour of installing bike lanes running both directions on Fitzgerald Avenue between Eighth and 21st Street.

The topic has been debated for multiple months and will need to be fast-tracked and completed by Dec. 4 if the city is to receive provincial funding from the Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program. In total, the new lanes are expected to cost $60,000, with $25,000 coming from the provincial purse and the rest covered by the city.

The push for bike lanes on the city’s north/south corridor was first introduced last summer but was shut down by a 106-signature petition against the idea to council.

In the recent vote, five of the seven members of city council voted in favour, with councillors Starr Winchester and Larry Jangula voting against the motion.

Winchester was worried about complaints she has heard of skateboarders using the bike lanes. Jangula cited a loss of parking spaces caused by bike lane installation.

Parking on Fitzgerald will be reduced from 160 to approximately 122. Some councillors noted 33 of the spaces would have been removed regardless to improve visibility for road users and pedestrians. Only five or six spaces will be lost solely to the new bike lanes.

Construction will begin soon in hopes of meeting the Dec. 4 deadline for provincial funding.