{"id":873550,"date":"2026-08-27T17:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873550\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:08:13","slug":"edmonton-city-council-not-backpedalling-on-bike-lane-plan-approved-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873550\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton city council not backpedalling on bike lane plan approved in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton City Council debated scaling back plans for proposed bike lanes Wednesday but ultimately chose to move ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really a bit of a culture war going on, and drivers have felt emboldened to be more aggressive, to be at times downright vicious,\u201d said Edmonton cyclist Lyle Trytten.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been close followed. I\u2019ve been close passed doing 28 kilometres an hour in a school zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trytten tells CityNews he\u2019s been biking around Edmonton for more than 50 years, but says over the last several years, things have gotten much worse for cyclists on city streets.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s one of the many people who spoke to councillors Wednesday, asking city leaders to keep on with a $100 million plan to bolster the city\u2019s bike lane network.<\/p>\n

Trytten says not only has it connected him to the city through a bicycle, but it\u2019s a matter of life and death on city roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the right to life, the right to safety, is much more important than the right to park my private property on everybody\u2019s infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Councillors debated scaling back plans to build more than a dozen planned bike lanes.<\/p>\n

Some bike lanes, like one planned for 50 Street in east Edmonton, have drawn criticism from some residents<\/a>, and Alberta\u2019s Transportation Ministry has said it will be tabling a bill later this year that will set guidelines on where bike lanes can be built.<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s Transportation Ministry tells CityNews through a statement the move to control bike lanes is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 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,\u201d the statement reads, in part.<\/p>\n

Mayor Andrew Knack says Edmontonians elected city council to make local decisions, adding there are more important issues on the city\u2019s roads that he\u2019d like to talk to the minister about.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore importantly, more people are dying on our streets than they have in the last few years,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cI\u2019d rather focus our time and attention on that. More people are speeding significantly on our streets. I\u2019d like to make sure that we\u2019re dealing with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bike lane planned in the Gold Bar neighbourhood would remove street parking, sparking outrage and a protest from some in the community earlier this summer. That bike lane is going back to planning to accommodate cyclists and cars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Cyclists and residents of Edmonton\u2019s east end rallied together to amend city\u2019s plans to include bike lanes and parking spaces on 50th Street, on July 6, 2026 (James Dunn, CityNews)<\/p>\n

The councillor for the area, Ashley Salvador, says while the future provincial bill on bike lanes hangs over the city\u2019s head, her and other city leaders need to build out the lanes, saying it\u2019s one of the few options they have for traffic safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely I\u2019m concerned about any potential introduction of legislation that would compromise that,\u201d said the councillor for Ward M\u00e9tis. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a reduction in tools to keep communities safe. We\u2019ve seen a loss of photo radar, for example, that\u2019s an important tool, and we\u2019re seeing the consequences of not having it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyclists outside city hall Wednesday said there\u2019s more to Edmonton than just vehicles, and the bike lanes are necessary to protect the riders who use them.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody needs to keep something,\u201d said Keith. \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a bike lane or if it\u2019s walking paths or parks. Everybody needs somewhere to go, not just people driving cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been biking for a long time, even before there were bike lanes,\u201d added Doug. \u201cI had no problem getting around. But then, it\u2019s a little different when you got families and kids and stuff, so it\u2019s a little more protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

City councillors voted to move ahead with the previously approved $100 million plan for bike lanes. That plan, approved in 2022, was to build an active transport network within four years. About 35 kilometres of bike lanes were built in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tA bike lane in Edmonton in August 2026. (CityNews) <\/p>\n

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