WHEREAS the Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program administrators have indicated that projects would not be eligible for funding for 1.5 metre shoulder bike lanes located on only one side of the road; AND WHEREAS terrain, property ownership or cost may make it impractical or impossible to provide bike lanes on both sides of a road: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the provincial government to amend grant application criteria to include consideration of funding for 1.5 metre shoulder bike lanes located on only one side of a road.
Ministry of Transportation The Ministry of Transportations Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program CIPP provides funding to local governments for the construction of safe and effective infrastructure that encourages commuter cycling. To ensure the safety of all road users, the design of cycling infrastructure must take into account the varying levels of cyclist knowledge about the rules of the roads. The CIPP does not fund projects that provide bike lanes on only one side of a road because this design promotes cycling in contradiction to the Motor Vehicle Act Act. A novice cyclist travelling on the side of a highway without a bike lane could see the marked bike lane on the opposite side of the road and assume it is for all cycling traffic and ride opposing the direction of motor vehicle traffic. A cyclist has the same responsibilities as a motor vehicle under the Act and therefore must operate on the right side of the road in the same direction as motor vehicles. Cycling against the flow of traffic is dangerous. If a cyclist is operating in the wrong direction within a bike lane the motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists using the highway are not expecting the cyclists to be there and may not see and avoid them. There is inadequate space within a 1.5 meter bike lane for two bicycles to meet head on and pass safely; one or both of them will be forced into either the vehicle traffic lane or onto the sidewalk. If there is inadequate space for a 1.5 meter bike lane on both sides of the current road configuration, the local government can look at other design options such as narrowing the current vehicle lanes, removing parking from one or both sides, or implementing shared road lanes instead of bike lanes for the section that two 1.5 meter lanes will not fit. All of these design strategies have been implemented successfully in British Columbia. The CIPP may also consider funding projects with bike lanes slightly less than 1.5 meters in width if the local government can demonstrate that it is impossible to fit two 1.5 meter lanes within the road right of way and that the narrower width provides a safe environment for cyclists.