One priority for the Active Transportation Advisory Committee is addressing the gap in cycling routes between (north) Oak Bay and Victoria by creating an east-west bikeway that connects with the greenway priority route on Haultain Road in the City of Victoria. Two issues need to be addressed to make this corridor a reality: lack of signage and crossing safety.
Here are three examples of intersections that cyclists travelling west from Oak Bay towards Victoria on Haultain Street, experience. This is the corridor that cyclists would potentially use to access Royal Jubilee Hospital, St. Patrick's Elementary School, Victoria High School, downtown Victoria, and the Galloping Good Regional trail.
Crossing #1: Haultain Road at Foul Bay, with a pedestrian activated warning beacon.
Crossing #1: Haultain Road at Foul Bay, no warning system or enhanced treatment for
cyclists
.
Crossing #2: Haultain Road at Richmond, no signal or warning beacons but traffic calming barrier causes motorists to slow down considerably making the crossing for cyclists and pedestrians safer.
Crossing #3: Haultain Road at Shelbourne Street, signalized intersection with bicycle loop detectors and pedestrian push buttons.
The CRD Draft Working Paper No. 3 - Bicycle Strategy Report (2002)http://www.crd.bc.ca/reports/regionalplanning_/generalreports_/transportation_/cycling_/archivebackgroundinf_/3bicyclestrategy/3bicyclestrategy.pdf identifies the crossing at Haultain and Foul Bay Road as one of several key intersections that needs improvement. It is easy to see why.
Much has been made of figuring out what motivates people to ride a bike and to use a bike as a means of transportation. Studies conducted by UBC
researchers identified the top 10 reasons for choosing not to ride. Apart from weather (snow, rain) or street conditions (icy, wet, debris on the road), cycling can be encouraged or discouraged by the
presence (or lack thereof) of route design and urban infrastructure. In other words,
good cycling facilities are important, including good signage and biking networks.
Environmental factors important to cyclists are cycling infrastructure and road connectivity.
Cyclists perceive major streets with shared lanes and no parked cars as having the greatest risk. I am not surprised. Recently, while attending the BC Summer Games, I decided to go for a bike ride. Having scoped out the area in which we were staying, I saw that there was a bike lane. Unfortunately, it was part of a very busy major roadway. While someone in the engineering department may have seen that as an obvious route, to me it screamed "unpleasant, noisy, and hazardous". I chose a different route that was more residential and visually pleasing.
Not surprisingly, cyclists perceive residential streets as far less risky. In fact, one UBC study noted one of the top three preferred routes for riders is residential streets that are part of a designated bike route and have traffic calming routes. Are these just perceptions or are there real benefits? The study shows that perception and reality are "aligned"—i.e. such streets are indeed safer for cyclists. No wonder then that cyclists will go out of their way to use designated bicycle routes, so long as
they are well marked in terms of signage and pavement markings and have bike
activated signals. (See link.)
ATAC has drawn up a list of potential priorities to take to Oak Bay Municipal Council in the fall. On my list is improved cycling networks and pathways—signage and access. Of particular interest is addressing
the gap in east/west cycling routes between (north) Oak Bay and Victoria by
creating an east-west bikeway that connects Willows Beach, Estevan Village and Haultain
Road with the greenway priority route on Haultain Road in the City of Victoria. Two issues
exist: lack of signage for this route and crossing safety at the intersection
of Haultain & Foul Bay Roads due to lack of a controlled access option for
cyclists. These are both issues that we hope to bring to Council's attention.
