CENTRE WELLINGTON - Several councillors are not satisfied with the high-level cost estimate and conceptual design for potential cycling lanes report on Provost Lane in Fergus.
At its Monday’s council meeting, Centre Wellington staff reported the cost to install bike lanes on Provost Lane for information.
Staff was directed at the Oct. 25 council meeting through a notice of motion to investigate and report back to council the estimated cost of bike lanes on Provost lane in Fergus between St. Andrew Street and Garafraxa Street with a single vehicle traffic lane and report back.
The first option was to add bike lanes to Provost Lane from St. Andrew Street to Garafraxa Street, which would be $5,680 for a conventional setup with solid white lines delineating them on the pavement; or $38,700 for separated lanes with barrier curbs.
Given the existing width of the pavement structure on Provost Lane and the recommended width for bicycle lanes for both options, Provost Lane would be required to be reduced to single-lane, one-way traffic to accommodate the bike lanes without altering the existing road width.
Councillors were not happy with reducing Provost Lane to a one-way street.
Coun. Ian MacRae explained that looking at the broader picture, council needs to establish central spines for active transportation quarters that are practical, versatile, easily accessible and allow easy flow of traffic.
“Considering the council's reviewing equity, diversity and inclusion, we should not be relegating the act of transportation quarters to less convenient side streets. All forms of transportation should be equal as it creates inconvenience and challenges for area residents,” said MacRae.
Adam Gilmore, township’s manager of engineering, explained that township staff have not yet considered which way traffic will be going, snow removals, but their main focus has been the notice of motion.
“What we’ve proposed is bike lanes on either side whether it’s separated facilities with a curb physically separated from the travel lanes or painted lanes, which really creates a narrow lane in the middle and as Adam mentioned we haven’t looked at direction on whether which way traffic will be going,” said Colin Baker, managing director of infrastructure services.
