Posted on behalf of Active Guelph.
Here is some important information regarding the council meeting this coming Monday, June 22
Background: Speedvale Bridge is near the end of its life and needs to be replaced in the next couple of years.
At this Monday’s (June 22) City Council Meeting, a proposal is being put forth to deal with the whole stretch of road that goes from Woolwich to to Manhattan, near Stevenson Street. The building of an Emma/Earl footbridge and Speedvale Underpass path along side the western side of the river are being considered to create alternative routes that are safer for walking and cycling but with no bike lanes on Speedvale. Staff would like an exemption from the bike policy for this.
While we endorse the building of the Emma/Earl Bridge and Speedvale underpass, wedo not endorse an exemption of the 2009 bike policy.
The bike policy was made law in 2009 “to provide demarcated bike lanes instead of bike routes as part of arterial roadways that are not identified in the Official Plan as having either bike lanes or bike routes. and that Council authorize staff to undertake retrofit construction to include bike lanes in sections of roadways that are designated to include bike lanes but are not scheduled for full reconstruction in the near term.”
If the bike policy is exempted, it could set a precedent that the city can exempt the bike policy whenever staff and city council do not want to go through the process of finding a way to make the bike lanes work. It threatens potential east/west connections throughout the city, as well as all of the advances that Guelph has made over the years with building bicycle infrastructure.
Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation will have a delegation regarding this proposal.
We need your support. You can add your support to this delegation by:
- writing a letter to City Council (before Friday morning at 9am) denouncing the exemption from the bicycle policy
- contacting your ward Councillor before Monday June 22 and reminding him/her that an exemption from the bicycle policy is unacceptable
- coming out to Council meeting, Monday at 7pm to support delegates.
- making a delegation in front of council (you must sign up before Friday at 9am)
Here is more background information about the staff recommendations of the Speedvale reconstruction.
http://guelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/IDE_agenda_060215.pdf, pp, 36-46
Thank you,
Yvette Tendick
GCAT president