Sudbury cycling infrastructure on track for upgrades with provincial grant

Sudbury's cycling infrastructure is set to expand over the next few years, with more than a million dollars coming from the province's Commuter Cycling Program.

City council endorsed the municipality's participation in the program at a meeting on Tuesday.

In December, the province announced the city would receive a $1.1 million grant through the four-year program, which requires municipalities to contribute an additional 20 per cent of the funding.

Council approved the city's $280,636 share on Tuesday, bringing the total funding to $1.4 million.

The city is looking to invest in a number of projects including the Paris Street and Notre Dame Avenue bikeway, bike parking and a lines and signs program.

The total cost of the proposed projects is estimated at $2.2 million dollars, but not every project will necessarily receive the grant money. Those that do must be completed by 2020.

Cycling infrastructure almost doubled in 2017

The new projects will build on improvements made in the last year, according to Marisa Talarico, the city's active transportation coordinator.

"In 2017 the city installed approximately 13 centre-line kilometres of cycling infrastructure," Talarico says.

"For some additional context, prior to 2017, the city's entire cycling infrastructure was about 16 kilometres, so we've almost doubled that amount."

That infrastructure includes cycle tracks, edge lines, bike lanes and paved shoulders. The city is planning to install more crossrides, intersection curb modifications and bicycle signals later in 2018.

Cyclists looking forward to more accessibility

Sheila Geraghty, president of the Sudbury Cycling Club, says she's definitely seen some improvements over the last few years.

In the warmer months, the avid cyclist often uses her bike to get from her home in Copper Cliff to Cambrian College, where she works.

"In recent years they've put in a limestone path from the lights at Copper Cliff to Kelly Lake Road," Geraghty says.

"And then there's another trail that you can pick up at Kelly Lake Road that you can take pretty much to Regent Street. So it gets you across the city easily and in a very safe method."

But Geraghty says there are still very few safe roads in the city, and she thinks there's plenty of room for improvement.

She's also hoping the city will consider updating existing infrastructure, like the Delki Dozzi cycling track — where the Sudbury Cycling Club trains — and older bike paths.

"Just accessibility throughout the city for cyclists, I think is just really in need. I'm really hoping that this money is put toward those things so that we as cyclists can really expand in our sport."