Bike lanes and BRT: Colliding interests converge at Saskatoon city hall today

Pack a snack.

Because Wednesday's public meeting about Saskatoon's future bus-rapid-transit (BRT) system and the city's parallel plan for a downtown cycling network could go long.

A tangle of business and community interests joined city councillors at city hall from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to talk about where the routes for each project should go.

• You can check out a full recap of the meeting and who said what by scrolling to the bottom of this story. 

"Three hours is not long enough for what we gotta talk about!!" says Dee-Ann Mercier, the executive director of the Broadway Business Improvement District and one of at least 10 speakers lined up to bend councillors' ears.

So why the two exclamation marks from Mercier? Here's everything you need to know.

What's at stake: 3rd Avenue vs. 1st Avenue for BRT

City planners need answers. They need to know where the routes and dedicated runningways for the BRT will go before they can commission more detailed designs.

Settling on the streets for an expanded cycling network makes that planning easier, too.

• Bike lanes remain on 4th Avenue, 23rd Street in new downtown Saskatoon cycling plan

Trouble is, groups can't agree on where all these things should go

Third Avenue remains the city's preferred downtown street for the BRT, but businesses on that street are worried about the loss of parking — even though the city's latest plan has as few as 10 parking spots being eliminated and a nearby bus village set aside for future new parking spots.

The Downtown Business Development District, which is scheduled to speak Wednesday, wants the BRT to run down 1st Avenue, citing support from businesses along that street, including the expansion-minded Midtown Plaza shopping mall.

• Midtown Plaza plans $80M in mall renos, asks for $2.8M tax break

Indeed, a representative from one of the companies that owns the Midtown is also queued up to speak.

So is John Williams, the president and CEO of Canwest Commercial and Land Corp.

Canwest is the company that's proposing to build a $55-million World Trade Center — on 3rd Avenue.

• Construction of World Trade Center Saskatoon expected to begin this fall

Since it's city councillors who will eventually decide (potentially this fall, according to Mayor Charlie Clark) which group goes home happy, CBC News reached out to all city councillors to hear their current downtown BRT street preference.

Only two responded.

"I would prefer 1st," said Darren Hill. "First is wide, much wider [than 3rd]."

Fellow councillor Cynthia Block said "if 1st is a viable model, I would give it serious consideration."

Bike lanes: 4th or 3rd Avenue?

Councillors will also need to decide whether one of the four streets in the proposed "all-ages-and-abilities" downtown bike network should be 4th Avenue — which is already home to hotly-debated demonstration bike lanes — or 3rd Avenue (in the event that the BRT route originally earmarked for 3rd Avenue gets moved to 1st Avenue).

The city's preference is to install newly-designed lanes at the same location, 4th Avenue.

"I will wait to hear from the speakers and my colleagues, but I'm not a fan of the 4th Avenue bike lanes," said Block. "However, I do support an all ages and abilities cycling network."

"Third has had all of that significant streetscaping on it," said Hill. "I don't know if you can now start adding additional infrastructure to that without completely screwing up the parking and the traffic."

Businesses and drivers have voiced the same fears as Hill about 4th Avenue, though. Others say that's just a necessary part of becoming a changing city.

The survey says...

Public sentiment has been invoked by both pro-4th and anti-4th city councillors in the bike lane debate, so maybe a refresher on that sentiment is warranted.

According to a representative survey of 1,004 residents conducted last summer by Insightrix, 66 per cent of respondents had a negative view of the bike lanes on 4th Avenue and 23rd Street.

"Top of mind comments are more commonly negative, with frequent references to poorly planned, underutilized, an unwanted expense and traffic impacts," Insightrix reported.  

"Four in 10 offer positive top of mind sentiments, including that it is generally a good idea and cyclist safety."

A separate survey placed on the city's website received 1,363 responses, with 77 per cent of people reporting negative thoughts about the lanes.

That feedback is what spurred an unsuccessful effort last fall by councillor Troy Davies to have the demo lines taken out ahead of the city's pitch for an expanded cycling network.

"We went to the public, we asked for their feedback, we got it, the numbers don't lie: the majority of the residents that have contacted me and responded to the survey want the bikes lanes on 4th Avenue removed and it's time we listened," Davies said at the time.

Bike lanes: what each councillor has said up to now

Though CBC News only heard from two of 11 councillors (Hill and Block) ahead of this Wednesday's meeting, last fall's council meeting offered each councillor a chance to weigh in on the 4th Avenue lanes as well as the proposed cycling network in general.

Here — to set the stage for this Wednesday's meeting — is a summary of what each had to say. (Note: Councillor Ann Iwanchuk was not present that day.)

Troy Davies

(voted to have 4th Avenue demo lanes taken out)

• Not against bike lanes in general.
• "They're just not working on 4th Avenue."
• "People are scared to drive it. I have seniors who will not come downtown."

Hilary Gough

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)

• Has received a lot of mixed feedback.
• "Any mode of transportation depends on a network: a safe and comfortable network to get around."
• Bike ridership increased in areas with demo lanes.
• "If the decision is that 5th Avenue or 3rd Avenue is the preferred route, I'll be happy to see 4th Avenue go."

Randy Donauer

 (voted to have 4th Avenue demo lanes taken out)

• Concerned about their cost ($80,000 to maintain during winter 2017-2018 and spring 2018).
• "They're not even popular with all the bike people that cycle on them. Yet the administration is asking us to double down and keep moving ahead on this issue."
• "I heard very clearly in the election that people had significant concerns, specifically about the 4th Avenue bike lane."

Mairin Loewen

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)

• Has received mixed feedback on this, too.
• Is interested "in principle" in having bike lanes.
• There is no obvious "heir apparent" to 4th Avenue. Insightrix's poll showed that no alternative bike lane location received anything close to overwhelming support from respondents.

Cynthia Block

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)

• "4th Avenue has been difficult for a lot of folks in my ward. The reaction overall to bike lanes has been not against them but where they're located on 4th."
• She has ridden the lanes herself and been "frustrated" with their lack of connection to Broadway Bridge or 19th Street. "It just ends."

Bev Dubois

(voted to have 4th Avenue demo lanes taken out)

• Supports cycling.
• "I've experienced it riding my bike as well as a cyclist: the bike lanes on 4th are not always safe."
• "I don't care if it's $80,000, $50,000, $100,000, it is dollars that we could spend on other things."

Darren Hill

(voted to have 4th Avenue demo lanes taken out)

• Concerned about maintenance costs.
• "Many people are not opposed to lanes, but opposed to where we put them and the nature of how we installed them."
• Would like to see bidirectional bike lanes, but only on one side of the street.

Zach Jeffries

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)

• Have to keep in mind larger goals like the city's Active Transportation Plan.
• "If we are simply to stand up and vote against things when they make certain pieces of our road network less convenient, we're never going to get a BRT network [for example] done."

Sarina Gersher

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)

• "All forms of transportation do have some form of conflict if they're not designed safely."
• "This will not be easy. It is a change. But it's a change towards providing options that are safer for all modes of transportation."
• Before bike lanes were installed, heard "a lot of frustrations" from motorists about having cyclists in front of them.

Charlie Clark

(voted to keep 4th Avenue demo lanes)