Council squeezes out bike lanes

By Wolf Depner - Penticton Western News Published: June 04

Bike lanes along Government Street may become narrower or disappear entirely as the city contemplates changes to its system of bikes lanes. These possibilities emerged as council discussed possibles changes to the local system of dedicated bikes lanes. Coun. Mike Pearce said he would like to narrow the bike lanes along Government Street to accommodate additional vehicle traffic, noting that the thoroughfare has turned into what he called a “goat-trail” that has become increasingly congested. “It was packed solid there the other day,” he said, adding that narrower bike lanes would allow the city to add dedicated turning lanes for automobiles. Mayor Dan Ashton appeared open to the idea when he noted that some bikers tend to shy away from heavier traffic as he urged the city’s Go Green Advisory Committee to look into another thoroughfare that “may, move the biking on another north-south thoroughfare close to Government.”

Not everybody agreed with Pearce’s push for the widening of Government Avenue for automobiles at the apparent expense of bicyclists. “I would be very cautious of narrowing the bike lanes,” said Coun. Judy Sentes. Automobile drivers do not always treat bicyclists with respect, she said. These discussions arose as council identified two proposed bike lanes as priorities for budget discussions, without any firm financial commitments. One identified priority is a dedicated bike lane connecting Government Street to the group of civic buildings centred around the South Okanagan Events Centre; the second a dedicated bike lane connecting Government Street to Okanagan Lake. Coun. Andrew Jakubeit urged council to also consider a connection to the expanding Okanagan College. He also expressed hope that the city would consult local riders before embarking on some large-scale study coming from “some engineer.”