The City of Victoria will be adding to its protected bike lanes with a 2.7 kilometre east-west connection on Fort Street.
The bike lanes will go from Cook Street, right to the Oak Bay border at Foul Bay Road.
“We heard significant support for improved safety on Fort Street during public engagement for the AAA cycling network,” Marianne Alto, mayor of Victoria said in a news release. “This project delivers essential updates and safety features for all road users.”
The stretch will also be receiving additional upgrades, including road paving, seven new or upgraded crosswalks, updated traffic signals, two electric vehicle fast-charging stations, eight trees and public seating.
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The city is also installing covered bike parking at Central Middle School.
“We are thrilled to have a safer way for our students, teachers and staff to get to school,” said Gillian Braun, Central Middle School’s principal in a news release. “The new bike shelter is a perfect addition to this project that will provide much-needed bike parking space for our active school community.”
The Royal Jubilee Hospital is along this new stretch of bike lanes, and Dr. Mike Benusic, a medical health officer with Island Health, says this will encourage staff to use active transportation to get to work.
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“Island Health promotes active transportation as a low-cost, low carbon and healthy way to get around,” said Benusic in a news release.
“Many staff already cycle to Royal Jubilee Hospital, and the improvements to Fort Street will encourage more employees to ride and walk more often. From a population health perspective, re-designing streets to support active mobility provides health and safety benefits for decades to come.”
The city says over 24 km of AAA bike routes has been built over the past six years.
AAA, or All Ages and Abilities, was a cycling network plan adopted by the city in 2016 with the goal of having 95 per cent of the municipality within 500 metres of a AAA route.
Laura Brougham
