Members of Brampton City Council say they\u2019ve found a way to prevent what cycling activists are calling \u201ca domino effect\u201d of dwindling bike lanes in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about trying to rip apart a system \u2013 this is about listening to our residents, listening to the cyclists as well, and finding what that balance is,\u201d said Wards 3 and 4 Coun. Dennis Keenan in council chambers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Keenan and his Wards 3 and 4 counterpart Martin Medeiros had put forward a motion calling for the city to convert bike lanes on Charolais Boulevard between James Potter Road and Hodgson Street back to four traffic lanes.<\/p>\n
The proposal originally called for the \u201cimmediate\u201d removal of the protected bike lanes while the city explores alternatives for maintaining the city\u2019s active transportation network.<\/p>\n
But after speaking with other councillors, as well as Brampton MPP and Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, the Charolais Boulevard bike lanes will stay in place until the end of August.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Even more bike lanes could be scrapped for additional car traffic on Brampton street<\/a><\/p>\n And as a further \u201ccompromise\u201d with other councillors, Keenan accepted amendments to the motion that will lead to the development of a multi-use path to replace the Charolais Boulevard bike lanes, as well as another multi-use path to replace bike lanes on\u00a0Howden Boulevard.<\/p>\n Coun. Rowena Santos, who has arguably been the most vocal supporter of bike lanes on Brampton City Council, called replacing the scrapped bike lanes with multi-use paths an \u201cideal\u201d compromise for local residents who are fed up with bike lanes and active cycle track users.<\/p>\n A survey of area residents found 83 per cent of respondents \u201care not in favour of bike lanes on Charolais,\u201d while 53 per cent said they use the road daily. Nearly 38 per cent also said they are in support of the city\u2019s cycling network, but not on Charolais, Mederios says.<\/p>\n David Laing is the chair of Bike Brampton, and told INsauga.com the \u201cdomino effect\u201d of lost bike lanes started around a year ago on Royal West Drive.<\/p>\n He suspects that city councillors facing re-election in the upcoming October municipal election are pushing back against bike lanes to quell complaints and \u201cmake the problem go away.\u201d<\/p>\n A proposal from Wards 2 and 6 Coun. Navjit Kaur Brar last month looks to scrap the dedicated bike lane on the south side of Clockwork Drive<\/a> between Brisdale Drive and Thornbush Boulevard to allow for more vehicle parking while still maintaining \u201ceast\u2013west active transportation connectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n Converting the bike lane into an urban shoulder on Clockwork Drive would cost $740, according to the report.<\/p>\n