Ninety-seven per cent of survey respondents feel safest on separate pathways as opposed to painted bike lanes on Cochrane streets.
That's one of the key findings of the 5th annual survey of Bike Cochrane conducted to advocate for Cochrane's active transportation investment.
The focus of this year's survey was on understanding where people feel safest on their bikes, scooters and mobility devices in a time when the town is working towards releasing its connectivity plan in 2025.
“With the upcoming connectivity plan guiding the town’s future investments, it’s a good time to think about the kinds of transportation infrastructure where people feel the safest when they’re not in a car," states Paul Perrault, chair of Bike Cochrane's active transportation (AT) committee, in a news release. "Following our traffic study last year showing over 30 per cent of drivers on Glenbow Drive were driving through the bike lane, it highlighted the need for safer bike infrastructure than simple painted lines on roadways."
Survey author Devin LaFleche, a member of the AT committee, says the finding is consistent with a current movement by municipalities to steer away from painted bike lanes.
He uses the examples of the Legacy Trail in Canmore, the Bow River Pathway in Cochrane, and the recently upgraded Glenbow pathway in Cochrane.
"When people feel safe on their bikes, they use their bikes more to get to school, to work, and to recreate as well," says LaFleche. "We’re proud of our town’s recent investment in the new paved pathway through Glenbow and the Ranche and it’s a good example of how we should be investing in the future.”
Aiding in securing a major federal active transportation grant for current improvements to the Historic Ranche and Glenbow Pathway was data collected by Bike Cochrane. A data sharing agreement with the town has allowed the nonprofit organization to count bikes and feet across the pathway and roadway network. They intend to continue this work in hopes of assisting the town in securing further funding.
Perrault says Bike Cochrane’s data shows peaks of over 1,000 users a day on some of our protected pathways, like the popular Horse Creek CP rail crossing, and the Bow River Pathway.
The survey findings also drew attention to major safety concerns for crossing Hwy. 22 and 1A, specifically the Quigley/Glenbow Dr. and the Fireside/James Walker Trail intersections.
Bike Cochrane has recently released guidance and analysis of the town’s highway crossings with specific focus on how to make these safer for the hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians crossing daily. In one example, it estimates developing safety islands at the Quigley/Glenbow Dr. and Hwy. 22 intersection would cost $15,475.
“For a very small amount of money, the Town of Cochrane can reduce the ‘threat distance’ that hundreds of students a day cover across this scary highway,” says Perrault. “Right-turns at this intersection are the biggest source of ‘near-misses’ that we hear from the public. Making these right-turns ‘channelized’ keeps pedestrians and bikes safer without affecting highway traffic.”
Besides the 35 people who formally responded to the survey over a four-week period, Bike Cochrane held discussions with parents and students while distributing bike bells all 12 schools this spring. The bells were allotted to them from the 2,000 recently purchased by the town to promote bike safety.
In the spring, town councillor Morgan Nagel sought a town bylaw amendment that would allow cyclists to use sidewalks when no bike lanes.
READ: Bikes with bells on sidewalks
Focusing on legalizing adults riding on sidewalks is a symptom of the lack of cycling infrastructure in town, says Perrault
"Councillor Nagel’s motion is trying to help people feel safer on their bikes so that’s hard to argue with. He has commented on his own challenges of feeling safe while riding, and we support our council’s efforts to make our community more bike-friendly for all users."
Perrault says there are far too many near-misses on Cochrane roads and providing a safe place to ride is critical.
"We know that we need to do better in terms of infrastructure design and build out," says Perrault, "and we're happy to be part of the process to make that safer for cyclists and for everybody else. People shouldn't die, simply because they're choosing to ride a bike. Tragedies like that of Johnny Hockey (Gaudreau) shouldn't happen. People should feel safer when they're riding their bikes."