It’s back to the drawing board for Banff’s controversial biking greenway on Banff Avenue.
Banff town council has directed administration to return with a report in 2016 with additional options for the greenway along Banff Avenue following mixed reviews of the dedicated bike lanes during a trial project this summer.
Officials say comments from the public on this year’s greenway trial were polarized, but there are ways to improve it for next year and continue to encourage people to ride instead of drive.
Chad Townsend, the Town of Banff’s environmental coordinator, said three options for cycling already presented to council remain on the table, but in addition, an engineering firm is currently studying a more permanent solution for the dedicated lanes.
“They’re studying the dimensions of the street if we have to shave the median and the sidewalk to see how can we fit dedicated bike lanes, two driving lanes and parking,” he said. “We’re doing a feasibility study of that and trying to put some costs to that.”
A four-year strategic plan that came out of Banff’s trails master plan aims to increase visitors using bicycles in town and encourage locals to use alternative transportation to get to work.
As part of this, temporary two-way cycling lanes ran along Banff Avenue and connected with the Legacy Trail East. The trial, which began at the end of August and ended in early November, was marked with temporary painted lines and poles.
If the trial is to continue, Banff protective services would like to see better vehicle pull-over options so vehicles aren’t in the way when they’re responding to an emergency. They also want to see improved intersection controls on the greenway.
Administration presented three options to council during meetings in November and December on service level review leading up to budget deliberations, but council asked for additional options too.
One of the options before council was a two-way bike lane, but with rollover curbs so drivers could pull over to allow better access for emergency vehicles trying to respond to emergencies.
Another option is a straight alignment of a two-way bike lane down Banff Avenue, delineated by a rumble strip and occasional flexible bollards with vehicle parking inside the greenway.
A third option is to have the two-way dedicated greenway only from Legacy Trail East to the crosswalk at Marmot Crescent, then shared street bike markings – not a dedicated lane – along Banff Avenue in northbound and southbound directions.
Townsend said all options for the greenway would include improved intersection controls developed in conjunction with RCMP and other protective services agencies.
“These three options are still under consideration, too,” said Townsend. “We’ll be looking to come back to council in January or February as we will need a decision so we can start planning for next summer.”
