Edmonton cyclists have their elbows up — against the province.
Council chambers were packed with more than 60 supporters of Edmonton’s bike lane network Wednesday as the infrastructure committee heard an update on the city’s active transportation implementation acceleration program after a miscommunication suggested administration is considering scaling back expansion plan in advance of pending provincial legislation overruling municipal planning. City manager Eddie Robar said a delay is not being considered.
Speakers pointed out bike lane candidates were the first past the post in the last civic election and questioned why the province is overruling a democratic decision.
“A few weeks ago, my mother was doored by a car,” said speaker Brian Markley. “She was knocked off her bike and knocked unconscious. She is 70 years old. Bike lanes save lives. A vocal minority with a grievance culture cannot be allowed to overturn the elected mandate to save lives.”
Support for bike lanes was near-universal — even people who came to ask the city to rethink a planned 79 Street bike lane in Hollyrood acknowledged their benefit and one motorist took the time to voice his support for them. The route is not planned to be constructed until next year.
“The more people who bike in this city, the more space we have on the roads for people who need to drive,” said motorist Edwin Shale. “Bikers are taxpayers at the end of the day and they have a right to this city as well.”
Speaker Merlin Chen reminded the committee a 2019 survey found 70 per cent of Edmontonians would commute by bike if safe to do so.
Mayor Andrew Knack expressed his confidence in city planners.
“I’m not at all interested in overreacting to any provincial legislation,” he said. “At the end of the day, they’re going to do what they do. Minister Dreeshan has said numerous times now that he wants to listen to civil engineers instead of social engineers, which is great because all of our planning decisions on transportation have been done by civil engineers for decades.
“More people are dying on our streets than they have in the last few years. More people are speeding significantly. I’d like to make sure we’re dealing with that.”
Speakers on both sides of the bike lane debate spoke in front of city council to voice their concerns on the future of active transportation modes in Edmonton on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.
Since 2024, the city has completed 34 routes spanning 40.6 kilometres. Another eight routes stretching 8.4 km are under construction. Three routes are proceeding as planned, covering 4.3 k,m and 14 proposed routes are under review, consisting of 22.7 km.
Dreeshan insisted the province is taking direction from voters.
“Albertans expect their government to make transportation decisions based on what works for our communities,” he said in a statement. “Our government is developing legislation to make sure transportation infrastructure works for all road users. Albertans elected us to make decisions that put their safety and quality of life first, and that’s exactly what we will continue to do. For too long, transportation decisions have been driven by ideology rather than common sense. We need to consider how infrastructure works for everyone who uses our roads.
“That is why we are already working with the City of Edmonton to make its roads safer. This year, Alberta approved four projects through the Alberta Traffic Safety Fund in Edmonton, providing more than $216,000 in provincial funding for safety improvements in Silver Berry, McConachie and Edgemont.”
Edmonton Police Service told Postmedia the number of fatalities involving collisions between motor vehicles and bicycles and e-bikes has been consistent over the past five years, with two cyclists killed in 2025 and one in every year since 2021, except for 2023. No fatalities have occurred involving cyclists this year. There have been at least seven serious injuries involving a cyclist each year since 2021.
Drivers in Edmonton may soon get a reminder of what things were like before the bike lanes were put in.
Noting there’s a lot more cyclists today than a decade ago, Aaron Budnick said YEG Bike Coalition is planning a week-long blitz from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, encouraging cyclists to use regular roads alongside cars.
“We’re encouraging cyclists to legally take the lane just so drivers can see what it would look like if the safe infrastructure for cyclists was removed and we were forced to mix with drivers on a regular basis.”
Related
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.