LETTER – Listen to users when designing active transportation networks
(Image: e-bikeBC)
I find it very interesting that some City councillors are complaining that usage numbers are currently not high enough on the 6th Avenue bike lane. These are the same ones who voted against connecting it to a multi-use path that was going to be built on Lansdowne when the street was going to torn up anyway.
People are not going to drive to 6th Avenue, get on their bikes and ride back and forth for fun – they actually need to GET SOMEWHERE. Connectivity is key to usage. It should come as no surprise to anyone that a path that goes from “nowhere safe” to “nowhere safe” gets limited use.
What the City did was create a highway on an island. With no bridges to get there or leave, it doesn’t make sense to rip the new highway up for not being used enough. It makes more sense to build bridges to and from the island connecting where the people are coming from and are going to.
In order to not waste more of our tax dollars, it should be a top priority to connect this small island of safe cycling infrastructure with routes that take us from Summit or Valleyview through the downtown and to the bridge – so we can actually get from A to B in Kamloops in something other than a car.
I also feel like I should point out that this route wasn’t a priority for cyclists themselves, who wanted a lane on a street closer to the centre of downtown. Many cyclists are still using 5thAvenue because it connects better with the Xgettem Trail (when it’s open – that’s another story). The City would get better results if they listened to users more during the planning phase.
Quick-build infrastructure might be a good option – as long as there is a commitment to follow through with permanent changes if warranted. As you say, Mel, decisions should be informed by better analysis and the experience of actual users.
There are many cities similar to Kamloops (e.g. Kelowna and Nanaimo) which are inspiring me with their progress in building out wonderful cycling infrastructure. A comprehensive active transportation system will not only benefit cyclists and those who use mobility aids to get around, but also drivers because it will reduce traffic volumes as we densify core areas.
Could we please bump up the priority of active transportation infrastructure in Kamloops, so people like me (i.e. those who prefer not to get run over) can use it before we die of old age?
GISELA RUCKERT
Kamloops
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Well said! There are many of us here in Kamloops that would be on our bikes a lot more if this city had the cycling infrastructure that came close to cities like Kelowna.
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They love hiring the high priced lawyers from Vancouver, so why not hire a consultant from a city that has actually built effective cycling infrastructure? Ask Kelowna to come here and show the city and council how things should be done.
We don’t need “The Bathroom Queen” or Karpuk giving the OK to bike paths designed by a city employee who only has a degree in wasting money. It’s the most awkward and useless thing I’ve ever seen. Kamloops continues to demonstrate why it’s Kamloops. A highway on an island indeed. A bridge to nowhere.
Punishment should be that Bepple and Karpuk have to transverse the entire length of the path 1000 times a month until the next election.
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I was riding on the sidewalk along 8th street and as I was passing the used car dealership a driver jumped out from the dealership and I t-boned the car at the passenger side front tire. I couldn’t see the car and the driver couldn’t see me as used cars for sale were squeezed up to the sidewalk. I went head over heels across the hood before crashing on the ground, broke my arm which required 3 screws to fuse the bone. If the driver was 1/10 of a second later, then the car would have hit me, knocking me into traffic which would have require a hell of a lot more than 3 screws to fix my injuries. That was in 1989, it also was the last time I rode on the sidewalk.
I rode just over 1,500kms last yr in the city, which I think qualifies me as an avid rider and I feel pretty safe in saying that every other avid rider would prefer to see more simple but safe bike lanes than Yellow Brick Roads masquerading as bike lanes like the debacle on 6th ave or the proposed path on Lansdowne which Bepple, Hall and Karpuk voted for at a cost of $700,000 a block.
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As both a driver and someone who has spent north of 150,000km in the saddle training, recreational riding, and year round commuting in both Kamloops and the Lower Mainland, I find cycling infrastructure in Kamloops disjointed, poorly maintained, and, frankly, dangerous. Those that will regularly use a well designed cycling infrastructure are, for the most part, cyclists who use their bikes for commuting, general transportation, or accessing the areas in and around Kamloops that work for longer single or group rides. Well I can’t speak for all, many do not want a cycle path that goes from road to path to walking across a crosswalk, to sidewalk, back to path, back to road, and so on. We want a continuity and a flow that ensures efficiency and safety while building mutual respect between drivers and cyclists. There are many good examples of this in cities like Vancouver if one would take the time to look. Regrettably, I have little confidence that our elected council or senior city administration will invest the time to investigate viable options or consult with stakeholders. Until they do, I will continue to ride where I feel safest…on the road.
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The other problem is using roadways where careless motorists are allowed to break every rule in the books is not a very safe alternative. Things would be much better and safer in Kamloops if we had the local authorities with a different mindset.
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For the most part, Kamloops drivers have demonstrated both regard and respect when I am cycling. Regrettably, far too many cyclists are either unaware or indifferent to the fact that the rules for cycling are clearly laid out in the Motor Vehicle Act. To paraphrase…”Same road, Same rights, SAME RULES”. If you wouldn’t do it while operating a car, then don’t do it when riding a bike (riding on the sidewalk, riding across a crosswalk, riding against the flow of traffic, passing vehicles stopped at a red light on their right to get to the front of the line, not signalling when changing lanes or turning, etc). When you are visible, predictable, following the rules of the road and being respectful to those you are sharing the roads with, you will reduce the likelihood of an incident. And as an added bonus, you may build some goodwill with taxpaying motorists when you need their support to build GOOD cycling infrastructure in Kamloops. As I previously said, current cycling infrastructure in Kamloops is poorly conceived and dangerous as it disregards both the rules laid out in the MVA and safe cycling tenets mentioned above. Until the city invests (time and $$) into both cycling infrastructure and educating the riding public on its responsibility to ride in a safe and legal manner, I’ll stick to the roads where I feel far safer.
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Dennis: When commuting on my bicycle I have absolutely no qualms in using the sidewalks along busy and dangerous Kamloops roads. I am polite, I ride slow and I wear a bell. But my highest priority is being able to return home to my family after riding.
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They don’t listen, but we knew that. Arrogance cubed is their, actually our problem. We could achieve the needed connectivity much quicker if instead of building an unnecessarily fancy mile they would build a spartan but functional three (or more) miles. And they are pushing it (connectivity) up Summit Drive and now parallel to 5A. WTF! A pathway through TRU, across McGill and up via Kenna Cartwright park (which is already there albeit in gravel form) would connect Dufferin, Pineview and Aberdeen much more effectively and quicker. But they don’t listen and unnervingly so.
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