Moncton staff recommend spending $1M on active transit next year

A Moncton street where a cyclist died last week is one of the roads the city's new active transit plan says needs a physically separated bike lane within five years.

The city's active transit plan was approved by council in the spring with a roadmap of locations for separated bike lanes in a city that has none.

Jocelyn Cohoon, the city's director of recreation, says staff are recommending the city spend $1 million related to several of the active transit plan's recommendations next year.

"We know that we can do them relatively quickly so we don't need to purchase land or situations like that, and that we have enough space on some of these roads," Cohoon said Tuesday.

"So we may do a physically separated bike lane on a street like Vaughan Harvey [Boulevard] where we have adequate space, and we know that we heard from citizens that they want to feel safer on roads like Vaughan Harvey that are busy."

The day before, Cohoon declined to name any specific projects that would be included until the draft budget is presented to council next month.

That leaves it unclear if Connaught Avenue will be among the first locations addressed by the city. A 60-year-old using an e-bike was fatally struck on that street Oct. 20.

The exact circumstances are not clear and an RCMP investigation is underway.

Cyclists say that area needs improvement.

Mike Roy said the end of the Rabbit Brook Trail on Connaught near highway ramps forces cyclists either onto a sidewalk or the four-lane road.

"This is a beautiful trail and it connects to this nightmare scenario," Roy said.

Roy spoke generally about cyclist experiences in the area since few details are known about the circumstances of the fatal crash last week.

"There's no infrastructure, zero infrastructure here," he said.

"There's no bike lanes. There's no way across the road other than a sidewalk. OK, so you're forcing the people that are riding by bicycles to now interact with the sidewalk and a pedestrian intersection to get across the street to, guess what? No infrastructure and only sidewalks again."

The end of the trail is among the areas the city's plan notes as a "spot gap" in need of improvement based on community consultation.

Cohoon on Monday told council the upcoming budget recommendations will include funds to address some of the most significant gaps. There are more than a dozen spot gaps shown in the plan maps, with dozens more noted by the public during consultations.

The plan approved in the spring calls for adding several types of infrastructure, from a painted line separating traffic and cyclists, to new physically separated lanes in various parts of the city, along with suggested time frames to add them.

The plan calls for bike lanes to be added in phases.

A separated bike lane is recommended on the four-lane Mountain Road between Wheeler Boulevard and Killam Drive by 2027, while West Lane to St. George Street is recommended between 2028 and 2032.

"A street like Mountain Road is going to be more long term, because it needs to have some width added to it," Cohoon said.

"Probably 15 years ago we were painting bike lanes and many people see them throughout the city. Now, given some of the traffic volumes we're seeing on the streets and depending on the size of the street, we are recommending more physically separated bikeways."

Among the areas the plan recommends separated bike lanes in the short term are St. George Street, portions of Queen Street, Shediac Road, Elmwood Drive, Mapleton Road and Morton Avenue.

While the plan calls for a separated bike lane on Salisbury Road along West Main Street to Vaughan Harvey, the plan sets a timeframe beyond 15 years.

The city also is recommending adding a new position, a full-time active transit co-ordinator, next year.

The role, costing about $94,000, would work with various departments on implementing the plan's recommendations.

The city is also looking at education campaigns related to driver, cyclist and pedestrian safety.