Crews will begin construction today on Calgary’s first downtown cycle track

CALGARY - Crews are starting construction today on Calgary’s first downtown cycle track.

 

This two-way bike lane along the east side of 7 Street S.W. between the Bow River pathway and 8 Avenue will provide a designated space with a one metre wide concrete barrier the height of a sidewalk curb that will improve travel on 7 Street S.W. It is the first cycle track to be constructed as part of The City’s east-west, north-south downtown cycle track network and is scheduled to open in July.

 

“This project is one that is responding to the rising number of people who choose to ride bicycles into the downtown,” explains City of Calgary Bicycle Coordinator Tom Thivener. “We’ve seen cycling trips in the downtown rise 20 per cent over the past year and 35 per cent over the past five years. The new roadway will provide the predictable space for people who ride bicycles and those who walk and drive.”

The protected bike lane will also provide a heightened sense of safety for Calgarians who may want to ride their bicycles into the centre city but are turned off by the high traffic volumes.

 

“The City needs to provide transportation choices for Calgarians and this project, these cycle tracks, will offer a comfortable space making cycling a real choice for even more citizens,” says Transportation General Manager Mac Logan.

 

The 7 Street S.W. cycle track is a convenient and direct connection to the west end of the downtown core. It will extend the highly used Bow River pathway system into the downtown and will connect directly to the Peace Bridge, which has the highest use of bicycle riders across the Bow River in the downtown area.  On the south end, the cycle track connects to the existing 8 Avenue S.W. bikeway as well as the LRT system on 7 Avenue. It also supports recent and future building developments in the core that have included secure bike parking and locker rooms, recognizing that the cycling commuter market is growing.   

 

As part of making Calgary a bicycle friendly city, the Council-approved Cycling Strategy directs Administration to plan, design and build more bikeways and establish an east-west/north-south cycle track network in the downtown core. Through 2013, The City will be working with citizens on the Centre City Bicycle Project Committee and a third-party consultant to establish the remaining east-west/north-south cycle track network with connections to the 7 Street S.W. cycle track.

 

More information on the 7 Street S.W. cycle track project and the centre city cycle track network is available at calgary.ca.