Charlottetown invites residents to help shape future of active transportation

The City of Charlottetown is looking for public input as it develops a new 10-year active transportation plan.

An open house will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre. An online survey is also available until April 10 for those who want to share their thoughts.

The city's previous plan led to the development of an active transportation path along the Charlottetown bypass and the Hillsborough Bridge, letting pedestrians and cyclists travel back and forth from Stratford into the capital. The network also includes connections to Cornwall and other key areas.

"We did some great work on that plan, but now we want to lay the groundwork for the next step," said Jessika Corkum-Gorrill, the city's manager of environment and sustainability.

Barriers to active transportation

Corkum-Gorrill said the city has hired professional consultants to build on the success of the last plan, which she said accomplished most of its original goals.

The project is currently in the second phase, involving drafting the plan and community engagement, and a final version is expected in June.

Corkum-Gorrill said the focus now is not only on gathering recommendations for expanding the network, but also on evaluating the existing infrastructure. This involves looking at road safety, including the width of bike lanes and aligning national standards.

"Safety is a huge consideration right at the top," she said. "Some of the roads are quite busy, and you don't have a fully connected network. So that's definitely a barrier."

Another barrier is Charlottetown's many heritage areas with narrow streets and on-street parking, which weren't designed for active transportation, she added.

"The newer neighbourhoods and new development that's happening, thankfully, is putting more consideration into those thoughts, but so finding solutions for the older neighbourhoods is one challenge."

Corkum-Gorrill said she looks forward to hearing more from residents on that topic at the upcoming open house.

Tailoring the plan to different areas

As for the new plan, she said, Charlottetown's diverse urban landscape will require transportation plans tailored to different neighbourhoods, taking into account things like street width, traffic volume and speed limits. 

"So in, you know, neighbourhoods where there's low traffic and low speeds, you might get away with having painted lines on the side of the road and having cyclists and walkers and scooters sharing the road," she said.

Safety is a huge consideration right at the top.— Jessika Corkum-Gorrill

"Or you might have a prescription, let's say, for a road that's busier, faster traffic, where we want safe, separated lanes or some kind of separation provided."

Charlottetown's geography makes it well-suited for active transportation, she said.

The city's relatively flat landscape and small size create natural advantages for cycling and walking, she said, adding that improving active transportation could also benefit the tourism industry by making it easier for visitors to explore the city by bike or on foot.