Bike lane upgrades could cost $5.9M in Brampton: report

Bringing upgraded bike lanes to a busy Brampton street could cost between $730,000 to $5.9 million, according to a new report.

Earlier this summer, the city put out a survey asking residents for feedback on options for new bike lanes on Howden Boulevard.

Brampton’s East-West Cycling Corridor is a 7-kilometre-long route that includes Howden Boulevard and Williams Parkway to Central Park Drive, Vodden Street and Main Street North to Howden Boulevard, and Hanover Road and Howden Boulevard to Central Park Drive.

Four options were presented to residents at a series of public information sessions, ranging from targeted cycle tracks at specific intersections to full cycle tracks on both sides of the roadway.

And while most residents surveyed said they wanted to see a multi-use path on one side of Howden Boulevard at a cost of $2.9 million, city staff are recommending council goes with the cheapest option – adding “targeted cycle tracks” at two intersections for a cost of $730,000.

Some 70 per cent of residents favoured Option 1, which could bring a three-metre-wide, multi-use path to Howden Boulevard. But a report from city staff recommends council choose Option 4, bringing targeted cycle tracks to intersections, despite receiving support from 38 per cent of residents.

Only Option 3, a proposal to add cycle tracks on both sides of Howden Boulevard, had the lowest approval score of 35 per cent.

“Option 4 (targeted in-boulevard cycle tracks at intersections) is the recommended option for design and implementation as the first step of a phased approach,” reads a report going to a committee of Brampton City Council on Wednesday.

If approved, Option 4 would lead to cycle tracks added to the intersections of Howden and Dixie, and Howden and Williams Parkway. The cycle tracks would be a two-metre-wide asphalt path “intended for unidirectional cyclist use,” according to the report.

“These paths will measure approximately 300 (metres) and will allow accommodation of exclusive right run lanes at the intersections,” the report says.

The report will go to a committee of Brampton City Council for consideration on Wednesday.

Late last year, the province pushed for a bill requiring municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.

But the plan to ban bike lanes was put on pause after the Ontario Superior Court found the province’s plan to remove bike lanes along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in Toronto violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ford has blamed bike lanes for contributing to increased traffic on Ontario roads, and made removing the bike lanes a campaign issue during the snap election he called and won in February.

The premier has said he plans to challenge the ruling.