County councillors agreed to establish a bicycle advisory committee on Feb. 25 after hearing a recommendation from the roads committee.
Roads committee chairman Rod Finnie said he was looking forward to hearing from not only cyclists, but also trail groups.
Councillor Carl Hall noted there has been a suggestion for paving county road shoulders, which would accommodate cyclists, but he noted, “We have 665km of county roads and over 100 bridges and 100 culverts. If we start paving all those … I don’t think your going to get those roads’ needs done.”
He added county engineer Gord Ough had considered bike paths and provided a report on them.
Ough stated in that report when roads were subsidized for 22 feet of width, that was the county standard. Then the county began paving to 25 feet wide in 1995, while painting an edge line, and that became the standard. He said over the past 15 years, from time to time, people have asked about bicycle lanes on county roads.
“To date there has been a consensus of staff and the road committee, notwithstanding the acknowledgement that there would be some advantages related to shoulder maintenance and vehicular traffic safety, that the partially paved shoulders should not be widened due to the concerns of encouraging or luring cyclists on county roads which typically have relatively high volumes, high speeds, and an abundance of truck traffic; along with a concern that a one metre paved strip immediately adjacent to the travel lanes may encourage those walking on the shoulder to do so closer to the traffic.”
Ough agreed more paved shoulders and designated bike lanes are popular, and said it is appropriate to revisit the issue. The cost would be $45,000 per kilometre of road, paving one metre on each side. He said there would be some offsetting costs over time with paved shoulders, related to delaying edge cracking and reducing gravel replacement and shoulder grading, but those savings might be offset with the need to sweep the paths clean, as well as costs for sign maintenance if the shoulder becomes designated for bike lanes.
Hall noted Ough’s report clearly showed, “Safety is an issue.”
He added, “Be a little cautious.”
Finnie agreed, and said the idea might be to have pilot projects, and there might be a possibility of separate paths along the sides of ditches.
Councillor Mark MacKenzie pointed out that in the northern part of the county there are Mennonites using the road shoulders with their horses and buggies.
He suggested the county “get comments” from that group.
Finnie agreed different municipalities will have different needs.
Councillor David Anderson suggested the county would not be considering all county roads for bike paths, but “a basic route. Stay away from heavy traffic.”
Councillor Jean Innes said the committee should try to determine if bike paths should be on county roads at all. She cited County Road 7 and said, “speeds are high” and people have called the stretch from Elora to Guelph “a terrifying experience.”
Finnie said those are all valid concerns, and the approach the committee takes will “encompass” everyone.
Innes said the county should work in an advisory role, and not for just county roads. She said the county should simply coordinate bike trails.
But councillor Brad Whitcombe said most county roads have a posted speed limit of 80km/hour, and suggested “Everybody get out of your silos.” That is a term for those who see only their own turf and do not consider the bigger picture.
He suggested the county bring in the planning department to work with the roads department and committee.
He added that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities “has a ton of money they want to spend on planning.”
Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj said that is “an excellent point,” and added that planning should be involved.
County then approved the motion to set up the committee.
Ross-Zuj said in an interview on Monday night that the federation has money for the lowest interest in the country it is ready to lend for environmental projects, and it also has some grant cash.
She said possibilities for such an arrangement for her township, Centre Wellington, include the Drimmie Dam and the Elora sewage treatment plant.
