Alberta’s Transportation Debate Needs to Go Beyond Bike Lanes and Include E Scooters

Alberta’s ongoing debate over bike lanes is entering another important phase after an Ontario court decision cleared the way for the provincial government there to proceed with plans to remove protected cycling infrastructure in parts of Toronto.

The ruling does not directly determine what Alberta can or cannot do with its own transportation network. However, it is likely to strengthen the Alberta government’s argument as it prepares legislation aimed at changing how municipalities plan and approve bike lanes.

Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen has indicated that legislation is expected this fall. Under the proposed approach, municipalities could be required to demonstrate that existing or proposed bike lanes are necessary and that they will not create negative impacts for surrounding communities.

The issue has become increasingly political, with motorists, cyclists, municipal governments and transportation advocates offering sharply different views about how public road space should be allocated.

For many drivers, frustration is understandable. Calgary continues to face congestion in busy areas, and some motorists question the use of road space for cycling infrastructure when bike lanes may appear lightly used at certain times of the day. Parking availability and traffic movement have also become part of the wider argument.

But Alberta’s transportation discussion should not be reduced to a simple conflict between cars and bicycles.

The province is changing, and the ways people travel are changing with it.

One of the most important developments receiving comparatively less attention is the rapid growth of electric scooters.

E scooters have become increasingly visible on the streets of Calgary and Edmonton, both through private ownership and shared rental programs. Their popularity has introduced another form of transportation that occupies a space between conventional road traffic, cycling infrastructure and pedestrian areas.

That creates a practical challenge for municipalities.

E scooters do not fit comfortably into a traditional transportation model built primarily around cars and pedestrians. Putting them directly into heavy vehicle traffic can create safety concerns, while allowing them to operate freely on sidewalks can create risks for pedestrians.

This is where existing cycling infrastructure could become increasingly important.

Protected and separated lanes can potentially provide space for bicycles, e bikes and e scooters while reducing interaction between smaller transportation devices, motor vehicles and pedestrians.

Both Calgary and Edmonton already allow shared e scooters to operate on certain cycling routes. As their use expands, transportation planners may have to consider whether existing bike infrastructure can serve a broader purpose rather than viewing it exclusively as infrastructure for bicycles.

This does not necessarily mean Alberta needs more bike lanes everywhere.

Instead, it means the province and municipalities should examine transportation infrastructure based on how people actually move through cities today and how they are likely to travel in the future.

The Alberta government recently invited residents to submit concerns about existing bike lanes. Thousands of responses were received, giving the government additional political support for its argument that some cycling infrastructure should be reconsidered.

However, public opinion alone should not determine whether individual transportation projects succeed or fail.

Decisions about road design should also consider traffic patterns, safety data, collision risks, transportation demand, accessibility, population growth and the needs of different road users.

The Ontario court decision provides an important legal development, but it does not settle the broader transportation question facing Alberta.

The central issue should be how communities can create roads that work safely and efficiently for everyone.

Cars, pickup trucks and SUVs remain the dominant form of transportation across Alberta, and that reality is unlikely to change anytime soon. The province’s road network is also vastly larger than its cycling network.

But the continued dominance of automobiles does not eliminate the need for infrastructure serving other forms of transportation.

People will continue to cycle. E bikes will remain popular. E scooters are likely to remain part of urban transportation. Public transit will continue to play a role, and pedestrians will always need safe and accessible routes.

The challenge for governments is to ensure these different forms of transportation can coexist without unnecessarily placing one group against another.

The debate has often become unnecessarily hostile. Cyclists can feel that motorists do not respect their safety, while drivers can feel that road space has been taken away without sufficient consideration of congestion and practical transportation needs.

A more productive approach would move beyond those divisions.

Instead of asking whether Alberta should be for cars or bicycles, policymakers should ask what infrastructure is needed to safely accommodate the widest possible range of transportation choices.

That approach could also make existing investments more useful.

If a bike lane is already in place, governments should consider whether it can safely accommodate bicycles, e bikes and e scooters rather than treating the infrastructure as useful only to one category of road user.

At the same time, municipalities should be prepared to acknowledge when infrastructure is poorly designed, underused or creating unintended problems. Transportation policy should be flexible enough to respond to changing conditions.

Safety must remain at the centre of that process.

The growing popularity of e scooters has already raised concerns about injuries and conflicts between riders and pedestrians. Separating faster moving devices from people walking can reduce some of those risks.

Removing cycling infrastructure without considering where e bikes and e scooters will operate could therefore create new transportation problems rather than solving existing ones.

Alberta now has an opportunity to have a much broader conversation.

The coming legislation should not simply become another political battle over bike lanes. It should establish clear standards for evaluating transportation infrastructure and ensure municipalities have the ability to design networks suited to their communities.

That means considering traffic flow and parking, but it also means considering safety, active transportation, accessibility, emerging mobility technologies and future population growth.

The Ontario decision may have strengthened the Alberta government’s political position, but Alberta does not need to copy Ontario.

It can develop its own approach based on the realities of Calgary, Edmonton and communities across the province.

The future of transportation will not belong exclusively to cars, bicycles or e scooters. It will involve all of them.

The most sensible policy is therefore one that recognizes this reality and creates infrastructure that allows different modes of transportation to operate safely and efficiently.

Alberta’s transportation debate has gone on long enough as a simple argument about whether bike lanes are good or bad.

The more important question is whether the province can build roads and connected transportation spaces that work for everyone.

That should be the real test of the legislation expected this fall.

Courtesy: calgaryherald