If you follow Canadian Cycling Magazine, you’ll have noticed that all sorts of bike lane hullabaloo in major Canadian cities. Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto–there’s been debates, debacles and drama these past few years.
And while these issues often dominate headlines in Canada’s largest cities, they are also stirring discussion in smaller places like Medicine Hat. In the Albertan city, driving remains the default mode of transportation.
So given what we’ve seen in bigger Canadian cities, it’s no surprise that Medicine Hat council has postponed a decision on its updated Transportation Master Plan. This is to give locals more time to weigh in on proposals that could reshape streets across the city.
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Just like in those bigger Canadian cities, the debate touches on familiar topics: bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and traffic-calming measures.
Greg Bueckert, a resident of the southern Alberta city, said his concern isn’t with cyclists, but with what he sees as planners targeting drivers. “They’re attacking the people that just want to drive to work,” he said to the CBC. Wendy Klassen, who has lived in the city since 1988, described plans to narrow lanes and expand sidewalks in some areas as “a nightmare.”
Others see benefits. Carter Gramlich, chair of Bike Medicine Hat, said he supports pausing the plan to allow more community dialogue. “Being able to go to school or to the store on their own is something that [my daughters] are interested in,” he said to the CBC, “and I want to make sure they’re protected.”
But City engineers say the plan isn’t about punishing drivers. John Ashton, a planning engineer, described the vision as “a shared space for cars, bikes, pedestrians, skateboarders—whoever. We want to make it safe for everyone to commute, however they choose to commute.”
The proposed master plan, which updates a framework last revised over a decade ago, outlines a vision for the city through 2050.
Last year, packed public hearings forced council to delay approval. On Tuesday, a new council again chose to defer a decision amid continued concerns that the blueprint doesn’t reflect the city’s car-centric reality. “Our biggest challenge and opportunity … is to build trust with the people of Medicine Hat,” Coun. Stuart Young said.
To that end, the city has hired a pollster and plans more in-person outreach, according to the CBC. Ashton said the pause is meant to reset the conversation, explaining the plan’s direction without dictating outcomes. Bueckert called it “a start” toward building understanding. “I’m impressed with council … they’ve allowed for more public input and for understanding,” he said.