New Street bike lane report recommends removing bike lane road diet
City staff are recommending that the New Street bike lane pilot project (road diet) be ended, and the road be returned to four lanes of vehicular traffic.Additional recommendations include:
- consideration of cycle tracks on New Street between Guelph Line and Burloak Drive as part of the 2019 to 2028 capital budget and forecast, and pursuit of senior levelgovernment funding for the implementation costs.
- add resurfacing and storm sewer replacement from Cumberland Avenue to Walkers Line in 2018 to the existing contract with King Paving for New Street and Drury Lane
The Committee of the Whole - regular, which includes all members of council, will be debating this item at 6:30pm, Nov. 27. Recommendations from this meeting go to City Council Dec. 11 for final approval.Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting to speak in favour or against the recommendations. In order to speak at a Committee of the Whole meeting, individuals must register no later than 9:30am on the day of the meeting. To register, complete the online application at www.burlington.ca/delegation, email cityclerks@burlington.ca or phone 905-335-7600, ext. 7481The staff report is available here: New Street Bike Lane Pilot ProjectMy Take: I support returning New Street to its original 4-lane cross section. Thanks to all the residents who provided your input and lived experience throughout the road diet pilot period process. Regarding cycle tracks, my support will depend on where the bike lanes will be placed (beside the road, or in the boulevard), the impact on trees and greenspace, as well as the cost. Previous estimates of a bike lane in the boulevard were close to $8 million from Guelph Line to Burloak. We currently have many more urgent needs for funding in the city, for example transit which is used by far more people. Even if the costs of bike lanes are borne by upper government levels, there's a limited pot of dollars and this project could displace other requests for funding we currently have.