Hillsborough Bridge active transportation lane almost complete

As a long winter of construction wraps up on the Hillsborough Bridge, more active transportation projects are being planned across the Island, much to the delight of the group Bike Friendly Charlottetown. 

The new active transportation path on the Hillsborough Bridge is almost complete, with pedestrian railings and crash barriers being installed now, leaving some trail work still to be done on both sides of the bridge.

"The trail itself is completed on the Charlottetown side, down to Park Street," said Stephen Yeo, chief engineer for the province's Transportation Department. 

"As soon as the weather permits the contractor to go back, probably mid to late April, they'll be back building the trail on the Stratford site, and we anticipate that the trail should be open in late May." 

The construction of the path for pedestrians and cyclists on the Hillsborough Bridge is happening three years ahead of schedule.

The lane was one of a number of infrastructure projects moved forward in response to COVID. 

 It cost $4 million to build, split between the provincial and federal governments, through the New Building Canada Fund.

"There was a lot of pressure to get this trail built," Yeo said.

"It was slated for 2022 or 2023, and we moved the project up into 2020, and we'll complete it in early spring of 2021." 

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Yeo said 36,000 vehicles cross the Hillsborough Bridge every day during the peak summer months, in a normal tourism season.  

He said the shoulders that were on the bridge will shrink, to accommodate four lanes of traffic, but it shouldn't be a concern because any cyclists will now be using the active transportation lane. 

Yeo said there has been a growing interest in active transportation across the Island, including the province's active transportation fund. 

"Some of it was used last year along the Riverside Drive, between the hospital and Kensington Road, that was cost-shared with the city of Charlottetown," Yeo said.

"The city of Summerside did some work on Greenwood Drive, where they widened the asphalt and put a pedestrian trail. It's something that's being utilized Island-wide."

Major milestone

For Mitch Underhay, with the group Bike Friendly Charlottetown, the new active transportation lane on the bridge is a major milestone.

"I can't tell you how excited I am. This is awesome. What we want to see as a group is a fully connected network of dedicated active transportation lanes," Underhay said. 

"This is the largest single piece of that puzzle. Now, that doesn't mean the whole puzzle is done, but this is the biggest piece. It's a real barrier trying to get across that bridge on a bike, or even walking, without that."

Underhay said he is also excited about a new $400 million federal active transportation fund announced last week.

"It's taking off for a couple of reasons. In COVID, we learned that people really need to get around outside, in their own communities," Underhay said.  

"The personal ownership of a vehicle is super expensive, and so it'll just kind of open those doors."

Island-wide interest

Underhay said there is also a provincewide active transportation study underway now. 

"It's kind of a bigger picture of connecting the dots. You want each little town along the trail, or new trails, to be connected so people in those communities can walk or bike where they need to go," Underhay said.

"Then you want to connect that broadly between regions, so that you can do big longer loops, both for tourism, and for commuting, or just recreation."

Underhay said the growth in active transportation is also important to him because of his late brother, Josh, and his many years of lobbying for more bike lanes.

"We've been saying this for a while. My brother said this for a while. And it's just like everything's lining up, right? The stars are aligning," Underhay said.

"People are seeing the importance of this, money is being allocated. And I just know that whenever all of this is built, and people start to use it, they're going to really understand the benefit and they're going to love it." 

Underhay said he looks forward to the official opening of the active transportation lane.

"We're going to ride across just on our own, and we would love to make a little media event too," Underhay said.

"But it means a lot for my family and I to ride across this bridge." 

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