Frustration from a city councillor concerning a lack of movement to improve cycling access at a busy intersection.
The Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee received a report Wednesday looking into the feasibility of adding a multi-use trail at the underpass at Drouillard Road and Wyandotte Street.
The report stated that the existing sidewalks in their current form cannot be developed into appropriate multi-use pathways to accommodate cyclists as there is no room to widen the sidewalks, and the street is too small to allow a bike lane.
Committee member and ward 9 councillor, Kieran McKenzie, says he's frustrated with that response from administration after it was stated in the approved Active Transportation Master Plan back in 2019 that this intersection was considered a "medium to high priority location for future cycling networks".
McKenzie says it's frustrating that the city is unable to follow through with a plan they told the community they would do.
"People are - I think - losing faith in what they hear coming out of City Hall because too often we are moving backwards on things that we said we were going to do, we come back and say we actually can't do the thing that we said we we're going to do, or we just choose to do something different then we said we were going to do, and I think that that erodes public confidence."
He says that intersection does pose a safety risk to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
"It's been there since as long as I can remember. So, when we develop these plans, and are looking at the transportation network and how we can facilitate people moving around the city, in whatever type of means of conveyance they want to use, that's got to be taken seriously. And I'm not suggesting that it's not, but we can't publish Master Plan documents that are actually not achievable."
He says he believes the city is behind on their goals for the Active Transportation Master Plan.
"The only question that I have is how far behind are we? So, I want the report that will tell us, and again council can make the decision. If council is comfortable, and the leadership is comfortable with us not making the investments that we said we were going to make then let's tell the community that in a very straightforward and forthright way. But, we don't know how far behind we are."
The committee accepted the report, and councillor Kieran McKenzie has asked that when the report goes to city council that administration provides an update on the current progress of the Active Transportation Master Plan.
This location was considered a primary location to close the gap of the cycling network between St. Luke Road and Strabane Avenue on Wyandotte Street East where no current cycling infrastructure exists.
