Goldstream News Gazette: Bike gridlock coming?

Cycling advocate says better bike lanes a West Shore priority The two-wheeled version of the Colwood Crawl -— bike gridlock -— is coming to the Galloping Goose Trail during rush hour periods. But it’s not that bad yet, says John Luton, executive director of the Capital Bike and Walk Society. When bike gridlock comes close to happening, and it will soon, said Luton, there’ll be a need for special bike traffic cops to keep things flowing smoothly. “There’s a bit of a need already,” said Luton, who has personally counted up to 500 cyclists per hour using the Galloping Goose near downtown Victoria during peak periods. Across the region, he said bikes are used for more than 40,000 trips a day — nearly 15 million trips a year.

But the possibility of bike gridlock doesn’t worry Luton, who says it will still be safer and cheaper than getting stuck in the Colwood crawl. Luton said bike-use statistics show investing in bike lanes and trails is paying off with significant shifts to cycling for everyday transportation. Getting commuters to switch from automobiles to alternative forms of transport including cycling, light rail and bus was the theme of a South Island Transportation Forum that took place Saturday at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre.

About 100 residents attended the forum, organized by South Island NDP MLAs. “Our region needs a new, integrated transportation authority with appropriate funding from the senior levels of government,” Esquimalt-Metchosin NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis. With the provincial government already collecting 11 cents tax from every litre of gasoline sold in B.C., Karagianis wants the Campbell government to take two cents of every litre sold on the South Island to set up the authority.

Such a fuel tax return would amount to several million dollars annually that could be spent on fixing existing transportation problems and finding new solutions. Luton said Capital Regional District studies show commuter cycling already accounts for 7.7 per cent of commuter trips — up nearly 25 per cent in six years. “Even more significant is a 40 per cent increase for things like shopping, travelling to appointments, or other discretionary travel,” he said.

Luton says the new multi-use trail planned to run alongside the E&N rail corridor will have “a dramatic impact on cycling numbers and will get more people walking too.” He said that several projects, especially on the West Shore, are needed to close the gaps in cycling networks across the region and to improve conditions for pedestrian travel. Priorities should include bridging key intersections of the Galloping Goose in Colwood and Langford, and paving the urban containment boundaries on both the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails.