It has been said that life is like riding a bicycle - to stay balanced you need to keep moving.
It has been said that life is like riding a bicycle - to stay balanced you need to keep moving.
The same can be applied to cycling infrastructure and supports, and if so, the Town of Canmore continues to balance itself each year by continuing to make the community one of the most bike-friendly towns around.
It would be hard for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists in Canmore to not notice the new markings throughout the community on the roads, trails and sidewalks to bring awareness to multiple users of the transportation system.
The municipality has put funds towards bike infrastructure each summer and manager of engineering Andy Esarte said this summer road painting was targeted as an important need and will help make the streets and pathways safer for all.
“A goal of the infrastructure is to make our streets safe and to make them accessible for all people,” Esarte said. “By offering safe places for people to cycle on the road we reduce conflicts between them and people who are walking and people who are driving.”
With education and road markings in place to clearly communicate where different road users can be, he said cyclists and motorists will be more predictable and conflict zones reduced. Any conflict zones that remain, he added, will be clearly marked.
Three projects completed this summer are indicative of the kind of work the municipality will be doing into the future. One of the most important, and one that has been on the books for several years, addresses the safety around pedestrians, cyclists and motorists at the Bow River Bridge.
Esarte said the very busy intersection is a bottleneck for the community when it comes to transportation because both commuters and recreational users use the crossing, which represents one of the only connections across the river.
The improvements to the site include widening of the pathway, pedestrian signal lights, removal of a bollard on the pedestrian bridge and smoothing out the curb to allow cyclists crossing into the town centre to merge onto the roadway easier.
The intersection at Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street by the Union Hall has also seen significant road painting improvements. Esarte said as a critical link to Lawrence Grassi Middle School, the daycare and town centre - the intersection includes painting to draw the attention of motorists and cyclists to potential conflicts.
Finally, Fourth Street has an important new connection over Spring Creek with a new pedestrian bridge. The flow of cyclists and pedestrians through that corridor leads to Cougar Creek and is an important new addition to how people navigate through the community. As a result, and with input from residents, Esarte said a pedestrian and cyclist priority zone was created along part of Fourth Street to improve that important community link.
The new lane markings, added engineer Jacob Johnson, are a trial program for the municipality. He said where they could be improved upon or new conflict zones identified - those will be addressed in the future.
Another key factor when it comes to encouraging cycling in the community is that parking in Canmore's downtown core is at a premium during busy summer days. Esarte said land for parking is at a premium and the cost of building and maintaining a parkade is significantly high.
“What we are going to see with parking and parkades in general is the demand is the highest at times when people can be out walking and cycling anyway,” he said.
The added infrastructure to make cycling safer in the community is exciting for Canmore Community Cruisers - an organization that's mandate is to encourage the safe use of roadways and create a bike-friendly Canmore.
The organization received a grant this summer to help provide outreach education to cyclists about the safe use of roadways. Program coordinator Marty Avery said part of that education is to help cyclists be predictable so they are safer around vehicles and pedestrians.
“We are thrilled the Town is being proactive and helping everyone be clear about how you are supposed to behave,” she said, adding the visual cues of the road signage helps.
The Cruisers have trained volunteers as hosts who are out in the community watching for and encouraging good behaviour. Avery said the more road users see others doing the right thing, the more they will also do the right thing.
She said cyclists are encouraged to be predictable. In other words, behave in a manner that won't be a surprise for other road users, use hand signals and eye contact to communicate. They are encouraged to be heard and be respectful. Avery said that means using a bell to let others know they are coming, which gives them time to respond and share the pathway.
“Our mandate is to educate and reward good shared road use from the cyclist's perspective,” she said.
Follow Canmore Community Cruisers on Facebook to find out more about the programs they offer or visit their booth at the Mountain Market on Thursdays.
Cycling in crosswalks
It is legal for a person to ride a bicycle through a crosswalk. However, if you choose to dismount your bicycle, you are considered a pedestrian and people driving vehicles must yield right-of-way to you. You don't automatically have right-of-way if you choose to stay mounted.
Elephant's feet
Located on the edge of some crosswalks, these squares indicate the crossing is part of a multi-use pathway and cyclists can be expected to use that crossing.
Green paint
Green paint is a North American standard for cycling. Coloured pavement within a bicycle lane increases visibility, identifies potential areas of conflict, and reinforces priority to bicyclists in conflict areas and in areas with pressure for illegal parking.
Rolling stops
Some states have allowed people on bikes to treat stop signs as yield signs and even stop lights as stop signs. That is not the case in Alberta.
Sharrows
A shared-lane marking, or sharrow, is a street marking installed at locations in Australia, Canada and the U.S. that indicates where people should preferably cycle away from potential conflict of car doors. It also indicates a lane is shared between vehicles and cyclists. In Alberta, a cyclist is considered a motor vehicle.
