A visioning exercise
Bike Friendly Charlottetown hosting public forum on March 11
A cycling advocacy group in Charlottetown wants to know what the public’s vision is for an active transportation network.
Bike Friendly Charlottetown is hosting a public forum called Shifting Gears’ on Wednesday, March 11 from 6-9 p.m. at the P.E.I. Brewing Company on Kensington Road.
Kate Shaw, a spokeswoman with the group, said the forum will feature a mix of stations where people can partake in activities with maps and share their ideas. They’re also bringing in experts in road design to speak.
Shaw said while the name of the group is Bike Friendly Charlottetown, they advocate for all active transportation, such as wheelchairs, skateboards, scooters and rollerblades.
“I think our overall goal with the event is to kind of engage with the public around what this vision looks like, to really solicit feedback from everyday people and make sure that their voices are getting heard in the process as well,’’ Shaw said Friday.
Mitch Underhay, who is also with the group, said they want to create an interconnected network of dedicated active transportation infrastructure, a true network that takes in Cornwall, Stratford and the capital city.
“We are going to showcase all of the different projects that are being worked on right now and then try to create a vision for what the future could be by collecting public input,’’ Underhay said.
Shaw said she bikes everywhere in Charlottetown as much as she can, including to and from work, although she admits it can be challenging in the winter.
“It’s a really easy way for me, personally, to have an exercise routine in my life,’’ she said. “I also do it for environmental reasons and I think that, in Charlottetown, it is so easy to be a casual cyclist.’’
“This is Charlottetown, so many people can do just that,’’ Underhay interjects.
Shaw said that while she lives close to her place of work, many people don’t, thus the need for an interconnected network.
Underhay applauds Transportation Minister Steven Myers for injecting $25 million over five years into an active transportation fund.
But he adds that what cyclists would really like is a dedicated active transportation network across the Hillsborough Bridge.
“They’ve got an engineering firm right now assessing different designs for what it could be and then get rough cost estimates as to what that would cost. The big issue is spanning the bridge itself.’’
He also applauds the city and the province for sharing the cost to create a path from the intersection of Murchison Lane and Riverside Drive at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to St. Peters Road, part of a three-phase project that will eventually see the path extended to the Confederation Trail on Mount Edward Road.
But, there have been challenges, like opposition to the Fitzroy Street bike lane that ultimately scuttled the project.
Shaw said she feels the public wasn’t engaged enough from the outset.
Underhay adds part of the reasons for holding a forum on March 11 is to get the public engaged and keep them engaged.
"We’re not going to tell people where bike lanes ought to be," he said. "We’re going to let people tell us and then we’re going to tell the province and the city.’’