To be very clear, the process for the bike plan has been public and fairly implemented. It’s very reasonable to be sad or angry to have missed the consultation, but that doesn’t make it unsafe or undemocratic. Provincial overreach on municipal development does seem pretty undemocratic to me, though, and sets a very dangerous precedent for provinces to have undue influence on local affairs, which undermines local democracy. Do you really want elected officials from another town or city to have a say over how your town or city develops?
THIS 👉 "Provincial overreach on municipal development does seem pretty undemocratic...and sets a very dangerous precedent for provinces to have undue influence on local affairs, which undermines local democracy."
I live in McCauley just off Church (96th) Street, and last year, the city installed protected bike lanes (on both sides of the street) and boulevards as part of neighbourhood renewal.
Neighbours and Churches were up in arms about many of the abovementioned concerns, especially the loss of parking for seniors. We also lost a lane of traffic as the road was converted into a one-way.
The result? Generally positive. There's still plenty of room for traffic, and with the narrow roads and bike lanes on both sides, cars aren't using it as a high-speed cut through the neighbourhood. I feel confident that safety has increased, with many neighbourhood children feeling safe enough to play on the sidewalks and boulevards. The upcoming addition of street trees will add to the sense of safety and help protect folks from extreme heat - we know that children and seniors are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.
Parking is tighter and does overflow into the side streets, but it's rare not to be able to find a spot - it's a minor inconvenience compared to the vastly improved street design we now have.
It's nice there. I use it sometimes to ride a bike to destinations on 95 St like the Italian Centre. Also, it's good to see that the city is investing in this area. I hope it also makes property developers feel that they won't be alone if they try to get something beautiful off the ground in that area.
It's weird you're advocating for provincial overreach while complaining about the municipal process being "undemocratic", as if the province intervening in municipal affairs wouldn't be vehemently undemocratic.
I'd be curious to see what improvements you'd suggest, other than just outright removing the bike lane. Our city is growing and our infrastructure becoming more interconnected is a part of that, if your only solution is to scream "NO!" then you're not being realistic about how our city is going to grow and evolve, you're just rejecting change. Is your expectation that once a parking spot is created it should never be removed?
I happen to live on a bike lane and find it wonderful, I can't fathom how it would affect emergency response times or make life more dangerous for youth/seniors--it literally takes vehicles off the sidewalks and puts them in the street. Unless your concern is for the cyclists themselves being at risk to the larger vehicles? In which case I'd hope you'd advocate for better protected bike lanes rather than their removal, which just puts bikes back on the sidewalk.
Your voices aren't being ignored, you are just an extreme minority. More people want bike lanes than not, and the majorioty of people don't really care one way or another.
I understand that change is hard, and uncertainty can be scary, but there is more than enough parking on the street. I've been there numerous times to count parking - it's literally never been more than 50% utilized, and at the same time, EXACTLY two driveways had any vehicles in them (despite 100% of the homes having alley driveways).
Even if parking was more utilized, putting space for cars above safe mobility for humans is the wrong priority. Safety & people's lives are always more important that any type of property.
The city held multiple public planning meetings, information sessions, and opportunities to voice your thoughts on this. If residents chose to ignore those opportunities, that is not the city's fault. With thousands of residents in the Delton and Alberta Ave area, it seems to me that giving so much attention to such a small number of disgruntled people is making the opposition to be far larger than it is.
Further, residents going to province over an issue that is clearly a municipal responsibility is underhanded and anti-democratic. I am sure those residents wouldn't appreciate others crying to the province when they don't get their way on other issues.
There are many things the city has done over my 20 years of living here, and in the 10 years of living in Delton, that I have not agreed with or that have been an inconvenience for me. I have voiced my opposition many times only for my concerns to go unanswered. That is democracy. That is living in a city. You don't always get what you want. Going above the head of city government opens the flood gates to allowing the province to meddle more in municipal affairs. That is not something any of us want.
Bike lanes are an essential for the future. Full stop.
262 out of a possible 9000 people have signed their petition last time I saw the numbers. They are such a fringe minority getting so much attention is exactly why no one trusts journalism anymore.
To be very clear, the process for the bike plan has been public and fairly implemented. It’s very reasonable to be sad or angry to have missed the consultation, but that doesn’t make it unsafe or undemocratic. Provincial overreach on municipal development does seem pretty undemocratic to me, though, and sets a very dangerous precedent for provinces to have undue influence on local affairs, which undermines local democracy. Do you really want elected officials from another town or city to have a say over how your town or city develops?
THIS 👉 "Provincial overreach on municipal development does seem pretty undemocratic...and sets a very dangerous precedent for provinces to have undue influence on local affairs, which undermines local democracy."
I live in McCauley just off Church (96th) Street, and last year, the city installed protected bike lanes (on both sides of the street) and boulevards as part of neighbourhood renewal.
Neighbours and Churches were up in arms about many of the abovementioned concerns, especially the loss of parking for seniors. We also lost a lane of traffic as the road was converted into a one-way.
The result? Generally positive. There's still plenty of room for traffic, and with the narrow roads and bike lanes on both sides, cars aren't using it as a high-speed cut through the neighbourhood. I feel confident that safety has increased, with many neighbourhood children feeling safe enough to play on the sidewalks and boulevards. The upcoming addition of street trees will add to the sense of safety and help protect folks from extreme heat - we know that children and seniors are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.
Parking is tighter and does overflow into the side streets, but it's rare not to be able to find a spot - it's a minor inconvenience compared to the vastly improved street design we now have.
It's nice there. I use it sometimes to ride a bike to destinations on 95 St like the Italian Centre. Also, it's good to see that the city is investing in this area. I hope it also makes property developers feel that they won't be alone if they try to get something beautiful off the ground in that area.
It's weird you're advocating for provincial overreach while complaining about the municipal process being "undemocratic", as if the province intervening in municipal affairs wouldn't be vehemently undemocratic.
I'd be curious to see what improvements you'd suggest, other than just outright removing the bike lane. Our city is growing and our infrastructure becoming more interconnected is a part of that, if your only solution is to scream "NO!" then you're not being realistic about how our city is going to grow and evolve, you're just rejecting change. Is your expectation that once a parking spot is created it should never be removed?
I happen to live on a bike lane and find it wonderful, I can't fathom how it would affect emergency response times or make life more dangerous for youth/seniors--it literally takes vehicles off the sidewalks and puts them in the street. Unless your concern is for the cyclists themselves being at risk to the larger vehicles? In which case I'd hope you'd advocate for better protected bike lanes rather than their removal, which just puts bikes back on the sidewalk.
Your voices aren't being ignored, you are just an extreme minority. More people want bike lanes than not, and the majorioty of people don't really care one way or another.
I understand that change is hard, and uncertainty can be scary, but there is more than enough parking on the street. I've been there numerous times to count parking - it's literally never been more than 50% utilized, and at the same time, EXACTLY two driveways had any vehicles in them (despite 100% of the homes having alley driveways).
Even if parking was more utilized, putting space for cars above safe mobility for humans is the wrong priority. Safety & people's lives are always more important that any type of property.
The city held multiple public planning meetings, information sessions, and opportunities to voice your thoughts on this. If residents chose to ignore those opportunities, that is not the city's fault. With thousands of residents in the Delton and Alberta Ave area, it seems to me that giving so much attention to such a small number of disgruntled people is making the opposition to be far larger than it is.
Further, residents going to province over an issue that is clearly a municipal responsibility is underhanded and anti-democratic. I am sure those residents wouldn't appreciate others crying to the province when they don't get their way on other issues.
There are many things the city has done over my 20 years of living here, and in the 10 years of living in Delton, that I have not agreed with or that have been an inconvenience for me. I have voiced my opposition many times only for my concerns to go unanswered. That is democracy. That is living in a city. You don't always get what you want. Going above the head of city government opens the flood gates to allowing the province to meddle more in municipal affairs. That is not something any of us want.
Bike lanes are an essential for the future. Full stop.
262 out of a possible 9000 people have signed their petition last time I saw the numbers. They are such a fringe minority getting so much attention is exactly why no one trusts journalism anymore.