A new cycle corridor through the Beltline officially opens on Tuesday and the city says the new route should be ready for riders by 6:00 a.m.
Crews were out putting the final touches on the 12 Avenue Cycle Track and removing construction barricades to get it ready for the morning commute.
The 12 avenue portion is the first phase of the cycle track network pilot project and runs from 11 Street west to 3 Street east.
“The weather has been on our side and we were able to complete construction on this route more quickly than anticipated,” said Don Mulligan, Director of Transportation Planning. “We will be finishing work on the track today so we encourage people to begin using the track tomorrow morning. We’d like to remind Calgarians that the other pilot cycle track routes are under construction, so we ask that cyclists stay off those routes until construction is complete.”
The city says adjustments have been made to 12 Avenue to facilitate the new track and include improved traffic light timing and better lane markings.
“The message to everyone is this is new. There’s new road signs, there’s new markings, there’s new signals, traffic lights, all of those sorts of things are new and there’s going to be an adjustment period so we would like everyone to go to the website, we’ll have ambassadors out, people who are going to help people along, be them drivers or pedestrians, and let them know how to behave, what to expect, how to read the signs and interpret them. All of these things are in the works so the adjustment period will be effective and people will understand how to behave differently over the course of the next one or two months, because there will be an adjustment period,” said Mulligan.
Some Calgarians are concerned about parking and accessibility to area businesses.
“I think it’s a fantastic thing for the environment, too bad we can only use it four months out of the year. Losing half of our parking has really been difficult because it’s difficult enough to get people to come downtown in the evening and inconveniencing especially getting wheelchairs in the restaurant has been very difficult lately,” said Laurel, from Escoba Bistro and Wine Bar.
“Well it makes it a little bit difficult to find parking when I’m running around doing appointments all day long and it’s taking away a fair bit of parking, for sure,” said Mark Starr who does business in the area.
The city is collecting feedback from Calgarians about the project and is asking people to weigh in by calling 311.
“We’re still working towards the end of the month for the official opening of the entire cycle track pilot network,” said Mulligan. “We have targets for this and all the routes, we will be collecting that data, doing surveys and we will be listening to people and what they have to say on 311 or through the website because this is a pilot and the whole idea is to understand how it’s working, try to make corrections as we can and to make this even better than it is today.”
The city says routes along 8th Avenue, 9th Avenue and 5th Street will open later in the month and the whole pilot project will be evaluated by council at the end of the year.
For more information on the Cycle Track Network click HERE.
