Municipalities struggle to find room for pedestrians and cyclists on rural roads
Rural municipalities look for ways to encourage active transportation — without building bike lanes
The rural roads of Greater Victoria wind through multiple municipalities, ignoring political boundaries and leaving stretches of road with no safe place for pedestrians or cyclists.
For municipalities that want to encourage active transportation, they're a challenge.
"In our urban context," said Saanich Coun. Zac de Vries, "we'll see people drive a short distance, because there's not a safe route to walk or bike, and it's just magnified when you're talking about the distances we see in rural Saanich between locations."
De Vries and his colleague, Niall Paltiel in neighbouring Central Saanich, want people to walk or bike more — both within their communities and around the region.
To do that, they know they need to make it safe. So, they want to work together, to identify routes and make sure those routes connect to each other.
Unlike more urban areas, they won't necessarily come in the form of sidewalks or bike lanes.
"Sometimes in these rural places there might be a decent right-of-way, but the road might not be as big," said Paltiel.
"So in and around our drainage ditches and everything else, if we can have a wide enough right-of-way, where there is a safe, separated area for cyclists, for pedestrians, for scooters and strollers and everyone else, I think it responds to the rural character."
It can also be cost-effective, like Saanich's Interurban Rail Trail. The trail is currently getting upgrades to carry a sewer line — and once the upgrades are done, residents will end up with an improved trail for cycling, walking and even horseback riding.
Paltiel says these sorts of multi-use trails can get people moving throughout the region, and there's already a working example: the Galloping Goose Trail, a 55-kilometre path that carries commuters and recreational cyclists and hikers across seven municipalities in Greater Victoria.
He'll use that as a model as he works with his council and de Vries's, to promote active transportation in Central Saanich and Saanich.