On Friday and Saturday, several pop-up bike infrastructure installations and events are happening in Edmonton. If you'd like to visit them both, Strathcona Complete Streets is organizing a free ride that will visit both on Saturday.
Join Strathcona Complete Streets on Saturday, September 20, as we visit two Edmonton bike events
When: 1pm, September 20 Where: McIntyre Park (83 Ave and 104 St), near the gazebo What: First, we will visit the "Bike Lane Multi-Sensory Experience" on 83rd Avenue. The city is "setting up a temporary bikeway with a cycle track, bike boulevard and contra-flow lane along 83 Avenue so that Edmontonians can see, try and learn about the new kinds of bike lanes that could be installed on proposed new bike routes in the City's core". Then, we will ride our bikes to the 102 ave Pop Up Bike Lane Rally. This is to support the creation of a bike route on 102 Avenue through downtown and Oliver. Let's get together on beautiful sunny Saturday and make Edmonton a better place to live and bike. All are welcome to this event.
A Bike Lane Multi-Sensory Experience
http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/cycling_walking/cycling.aspx The City of Edmonton is setting up a temporary bikeway with a cycle track, bike boulevard and contra-flow lane along 83 Avenue so that Edmontonians can see, try and learn about the new kinds of bike lanes that could be installed on proposed new bike routes in the City's core.
Dates & Time: September 19 from 3pm to 8pm, September 20 from 9am to 2pm Location: 83 Avenue From McIntyre Park to 106 Street
The 2014-2018 Bicycle Infrastructure Plan approved by the Transportation Committee of City Council on June 5, 2014 envisions the installation of high quality cycling infrastructure in areas of the city where cycling is already popular. The exact locations and designs for the routes will be determined through the public engagement process, however, we want Edmontonians to learn about and understand what the possibilities are for high quality bike lanes.
Join the fun. On Saturday only, McIntyre Park will be filled with family-friendly bike activities:
- A Bike Try-It Library
- A Bike Tune Up
- Bike-Powered Smoothies
- Bike-Themed Geocaching
- And more
You can read more about this initiative at http://transformingedmonton.ca/what-the-bke-get-up-close-and-personal/
Pop-up bike lane rally on 102 Ave
http://www.makesomethingedmonton.ca/projects/570-102-ave-pop-up-bike-lane-rally/
The West Downtown Complete Streets Working Group is hosting a pop-up bike lane rally on 102 Ave on September 20th. Please tell everyone you know because we want as many people out as possible!
Event Details:
Why: Our goal with the pop-up bike lane rally is to show the City of Edmonton that we care about the 102 ave bike lane and would like to see it implemented. Where: The lane will span from 108 street & 102 ave to 118 street & 102 ave. When: 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm on Saturday, September 20th
We will meet at 108 street and 102 ave at 3:00 pm on September 20th and bike together west to the Oliver Community Hall on 118 street. The lane will be dismantled at 4:30 pm
The pop-up bike lane will lead you to some great festivities being put on by the Oliver Community League for Community League day. (OCL has graciously offered to cover the costs of our event. Let’s show them some love!)
So what do we need from you?
- Tell all your friends. We want a large presence of cyclists out to demonstrate we are serious about this bike lane!
- Write your city councilor and tell them bike lanes are important to you. Our goal is to get the City of Edmonton to establish the route in the 2015 budget and to have the route implemented in 2015. You can find your councilor’s contact information here: http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_organization/city-councillors.aspx
- Volunteer support. This project will need people to help with the set-up of the bike lanes, and we’d appreciate any help we can get. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch
We’re excited about Edmonton’s future as a bikeable city. Together, we can Make Edmonton the safe, beautiful and vibrant city we want to live in.
If you want to learn more about why we are hosting the pop up bike lane rally, read on below:
Edmonton is moving towards being a bike-friendly city. Their position on being a bikeable city can be found here: http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/cycling_walking/cycling.aspx
In Spring 2014, through a process of public consultation, the city sought feedback on the proposed 102 ave bike lane. As things progressed, it appeared that there was a road bump in the process and it was revealed in this Metro article (http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/1113580/proposed-102-avenue-bike-lanes-up-in-the-air-despite-city-of-edmonton-consultations/) that there is a possibility that the 102 ave bike lanes may not be viable due to constraints on road space.
Most recently, City Councillor Scott McKeen posted on his blog hat he was committed to seeing the bike route project move forward.
Earlier this year the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition trialled a pop-up bike lane. For as little as $600, they were able to create a temporary bike lane. You can read more about their project here: http://streetsblog.net/2014/02/03/the-600-protected-bike-lane/
This project served as inspiration for our pop up bike lane. We felt it would be a good way to show the city how we feel about the 102 ave bike lane. We believe the bike lane is essential to a safe and vibrant downtown core.
We’re pleased to partner with the Oliver Community League and Downtown Edmonton Community League to bring this idea to fruition. The Oliver Community League has graciously offered to cover the costs for the event.