Shediac adding bicycle lanes to Main Street

Shediac is going on a "road diet" in an attempt to get more people out of their vehicles and onto their bicycles.

Mayor Jacques LeBlanc says the town will re-paint road lines for the existing four lanes of traffic on part of busy Main Street. The car lanes will be reduced to three in order to make room for a bicycle lane on each side of the street.

"We know that with the young families coming to town, the seniors that want to move and want to get active... it's all about getting Shediac healthy and getting Shediac moving and we have a quite significant amount of cyclists," he said in an interview on Information Morning Moncton.

LeBlanc says there will be one lane for cars in each direction along with a shared left turn lane on Main Street between Sackville Street and Belliveau Beach Road.

In a news release, the Town of Shediac says the concept has been tried in many towns and cities around the world and has been proven to have advantages.

"Road diets reduce vehicle conflicts that contribute to rear-end, left turn and sideswipe collisions. This concept also improves the safety of crosswalks," it says.

LeBlanc says there isn't room to add bicycle lanes to the downtown core but an educational campaign will continue to encourage motorists to share the road, and cyclists to stop using sidewalks.

"We've been having a lot of challenges with mothers with strollers and seniors walking on sidewalks and having challenges with the cyclists," LeBlanc said.

Shediac is also adding bike racks to the downtown to give cyclists a place to lock up their bicycles.

LeBlanc knows it will take time for habits to change but he says with a growing population, Shediac residents need to be respectful on all forms of transportation. 

"People are changing their mind sets and I think we need to get away from moving cars and start getting active and moving our feet and our legs and getting in shape."