Cycle track in Calgary: Council votes to spend less on Stephen Avenue pilot

City council has reduced the amount of money that will be spent on improving cycling facilities on Stephen Avenue.

The pedestrian mall will become a shared space with cyclists as part of a downtown cycle track network starting this summer.

Council voted to cut $400,000 from the pilot project — money that would have been spent for benches and other beautification measures.

Coun. Sean Chu wanted to cut deeper but said there wasn't support for the idea.  

• $600K bike plan in downtown criticized

"Everybody want to give a chance of this pilot project so that's why I voted yes to $200,000 and basically saving almost $400,000 — better than zero," he said. 

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says losing that money won't be a big loss for the project.

"It's always meant to be an easy pilot project," he said. "And quite frankly adding nice benches and improving the streetscape on the east end of Stephen Avenue is something that we probably want to do regardless but it won't get one more cyclist or one fewer cyclist using it. And I am interested in data from this and so I wanted to keep it as clean as possible."

Data will be collected and city council will decide late next year whether to keep the cycle tracks, change them or remove them.

The downtown network of bike lanes will be physically separated from other traffic and is expected to cost $6.7 million, although a separated track will not be constructed on Stephen Avenue.

The city says the pilot project on the busy downtown street will allow bicycles in a mixed-use setting with pedestrians during the day and with vehicles in the evening.

• A map of the proposed cycle track is available below. On mobile? Click here

Cycle track costs:

• Project delivery, management, communication, education and awareness: $1,623,000
  • Transportation Infrastructure $300,000
  • Corporate Services $48,000
  • Stantec Consulting Ltd. $1,100,000
  • Context $175,000
• 12th Avenue stretch (2.5 km on 11th Street S.W. to 4th Street S.E.): $1,748,000
  • Signals $450,000
  • City forces, signage, counters and temporary traffic accommodation $713,000
  • Sidewalk and asphalt construction $301,000
  • Barrier separation and painting $284,000
• Fifth Street S.W. (1.4 km from Third Avenue to 17th Avenue S.W.): $1,228,000
  • Signals $450,000
  • City forces, signage, counters and temporary traffic accommodation $407,000
  • Sidewalk and asphalt construction $182,000
  • Barrier separation and painting $189,000
• Eighth Avenue/Macleod Trail/Ninth Avenue (excluding Stephen Avenue): $1,432,000
  • Signals $150,000
  • City forces, signage, counters and temporary traffic accommodation $524,000
  • Sidewalk and asphalt construction $434,000
  • Barrier separation and painting $324,000
• Stephen Avenue/Olympic Plaza: $658,000
  • Signals $245,000
  • City forces, signage, counters and temporary traffic accommodation $213,000
  • Shared space construction $200,000

Total estimated construction, project delivery, public engagement and education: $6,689,000
*Estimate based on 60 per cent design