Improved active transport infrastructure

Idea:

As a frequent pedestrian, I often have cyclist zip past me on sidewalks despite this being against traffic law. This has led to a few close calls where cyclists were riding too fast and I ended up needing to jump off the sidewalk for my own safety. At the same time, as a *former* cyclist myself. I understand why cyclists ride on the sidewalk instead of on the road: Fredericton's driving culture very much still treats cyclists as unwelcome interlopers. I am a former cyclist because of how dangerously Fredericton drivers behave around cyclists - I felt like I was risking life-changing injury or death every time I put my helmet on to go for a ride in this city. When I lived in Germany as a child, they had a neat system that could be a win-win for everyone: they would have separate cycling ways from walking areas on busy roads, separated from car traffic by a physical barrier so the cyclists didn't have to worry about getting clipped by an impatient driver. Other cities in Canada (e.g. Montreal) have adopted this sort of strategy to good effect in their busiest regions. Frankly I would love to cycle to and from work in the warmer months and help to reduce the amount of car traffic, however I don't feel safe in doing so with the driving culture as it is - bike lanes often obstructed by cars and trash waiting for pickup isn't real or effective cycling infrastructure. Our current infrastructure sends the message to drivers that cyclists are at best an afterthought and don't really belong on the road, and our drivers tend to act accordingly. This is exactly the wrong message our city needs to be sending if we want to meet our carbon targets and improve activity levels. I'd like to see the city put real thought towards building infrastructure that encourages and enables active transport without having it become something purely for the adrenaline junkies who don't mind cars passing so close as to ruffle their jacket with the side mirrors or cutting around them, almost causing a collision, when they need to turn left.

Staff Feedback:

Our engineering team loves the idea of more separated bike facilities on our major roads to improve cyclist safety/comfort and reduce sidewalk cycling! Unfortunately, these are quite expensive to build and often only financially feasible as part of full street rebuilds. But we are always looking for ways to use other funding opportunities to help expand the active transportation network. This year, for instance, we kicked off a 3-year project to build elevated/separated bike lanes along Brookside Drive between Douglas Avenue and Main Street with the help of federal funding through the Green Municipal Fund. We're hoping that this will be a showcase project that can then be implemented on other corridors in the City once they are due for full infrastructure renewal (such as York Street, Crocket Street, etc.). We are also working on a pilot project to provide separated bike lanes in the downtown core to help promote AT.