Councillor asks city to give cyclists heads up on detours
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Phil Ambroziak
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EMC News - River ward Coun. Maria McRae believes she's on the right path to addressing the concerns of cyclists beleaguered by the annual construction season.
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Cyclists often have no advanced notice when a pathway is closed for construction. Coun. McRae wants the city to change that, with a new detour system.
According to a news item posted on the councillor's official website, any cycling detours set up during major road and pathway construction should be well marked "with consideration given to the most safe, feasible and direct route."
In an effort to see this become a reality, Coun. McRae is proposing that city staff develop a cycling detour plan to be used during construction and maintenance on roads and pathways.
"The city looks after both on-road and off-road cycling facilities," Coun. McRae said. "But, during construction projects, there is rarely any proper information provided regarding cycling detours or the information is not provided in a timely fashion. Yes, we know that we must maintain our pathways, but these projects can drastically impact the local cycling community."
The councillor said she would like to see effective and safe alternate routes provided for cyclists during construction, noting similar policies are already in place in some European cities.
"It's only common sense," she said. "I want to see something like this included as part of our regular planning process. Usually, when notification of pathway construction is given to users, it's last minute. This could result in someone who is used to a certain path not being informed of a detour being late for work or an important appointment. That is going to be the focus of my motion on this."
City council is expected to discuss Coun. McRae's proposal next month.
Current projects the councillor feels went ahead without proper notification to pathway users include work on a National Capital Commission (NCC) multi-use pathway in Vincent Massey Park.
"No planning had been done to properly identify an alternative path," Coun. McRae said. "Staff and I have looked into it and realized a detour onto city property was put in place, but notification about this came after-the-fact. We need to make sure this information is in place and given out to the public beforehand."
Coun. McRae also spoke about construction on the Brookfield pedestrian path leading to the Brookfield O-Train station.
"Imagine being a parent with a stroller who regularly uses the path only to arrive one day to find it closed," she said.
A number of concerned pathway users have approached the councillor to express how inconvenient this apparent lack of communication has been.
"They understand that maintenance projects such as this need to be done from time to time, but the number one complaint I've received is the lack of notification given and the absence of proper signage along the pathways to warn users of any upcoming closures. This results in a lack of time for users to make alternate plans."
Coun. McRae said there are a number of ways the city can give advanced notice about pathway closures.
"They can place ads in community newspapers, public service announcements through various websites, placing notices on the O-Train itself, putting flyers on posts along the pathways or even handing out flyers to pathway users as they pass by, which is something I had staff do in these particular cases."
She also pointed out how difficult it is for the city to be successful in its efforts to encourage more people to walk or bike when situations such as these arise to make it increasingly discouraging
Coun. McRae, who also serves as the head of council's transportation committee, said it would be efficient for staff to come up with cycling detours when projects are being planned, and her proposal would ensure the city prioritized pedestrian and cycling facilities.
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