Glimpses of Active Transportation across BC
I recently went on a road trip across BC with friends. As you might expect, highway infrastructure is consistent across the province - cycling infrastructure, not so much. Amidst our more conventional tourist activities, I got a few glimpses of (active) transportation in various villages, smalltowns and cities across BC.
Here's a collection of interesting sights from 5 different places.
1. In Pemberton, I noticed a large number of children from elementary to middle-school age cycling around school let-out time. There is a strong MTB scene in Pemberton, but no on-street cycling infrastructure whatsoever, and no mention of cycling on the municipality's website under transportation. Helmet use appeared to be 50% among children. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but it might suggest that parents aren't too worried about letting their children cycle.
Out of respect for their privacy, I decided not to publish my pictures - you'll have to imagine a happy 5-6yo girl on a pink bike negotiating a crosswalk alongside a slightly older boy, some cargo bike parents, and a middle school group of friends cycling their way to the farmer's market. Sidewalk riding was the norm on the MoTT-owned Portage Rd that runs right through the heart of Pemberton. With the farmer's market running and a lot of activity around the village, it was a very wholesome atmosphere.
2. Revelstoke was a very nice town with a relatively large downtown core, and signs of a utility cycling culture. The town has a standard wheelbender-style bike rack, and they're well-used! While we ate brunch, the bike rack outside was visited by a man doing a grocery run, and a cargo bike mom carrying 3 toddlers. I've been told that the provincial helmet law doesn't apply in Revy, and given what I saw in my hours downtown, that sounds accurate.
Revy is yet another town with absolutely zero cycling infrastructure on their main streets, though they have some recreational-oriented trails outside the core. Cycling seems to work well enough because all of the major traffic uses Victoria Road, and there's a tight grid of side streets that are generally low on car traffic. Still, it would go a long way to see some cycling infrastructure on roads such as 4th St E / Airport Way, Pearkes Drive, and Big Eddy Road, in order to connect areas outside of this grid. It would also help to have space for cycling on Victoria Road, where all the destinations are on one side, though I'm uncertain about having a 2-way cycle path across so many driveways.
Shorts and a puffy. A true Canadian.
3. Outside the town of Radium Hot Springs, at the hot springs pool itself, we came across a pedestrian underpass built by Parks Canada that also doubles as a wildlife corridor. I have to say, I agree with the big cat.
Radium itself had nothing exciting in terms of infrastructure, though they were quite consistent with using bulb-outs and marked parallel parking stalls on residential side streets. It also got me to think about frontage roads beside MoTT highways and the potential they hold to be more human-scale streets. Even in urban areas like Radium, frontage roads have a strong mobility focus and neglect the placemaking function. I'd also like to see more thoughtful approaches to managing conflict and truck access at frontage road entrances beyond a 3-way stop with huge shoulders.
4. Kimberly is a charming town with a strong recreational cycling culture, pedestrianized main street, and what appears to be a recently daylit creek. For a couple seconds, I was ecstatic at the sight of a nearside signal, then realized it was merely a repeater required by the intersection's geometry. Again, the town is cut up by MoTT roads so wide and lacking in pavement markings as to be vague. Outside our restaurant, cars rolled far past the stop sign to get a good view before crossing, showcasing the futility of stop bars and the unused width of the road.
5. This one's a twofer. In Creston, we saw a number of densely spaced full traffic signals on the town's main street. The traffic light installation was unmistakably MoTT - I've seen identical poles in other cities, and one of the clearest giveaways is the lack of street names. Despite this, it stands in contrast to other urban MoTT roads by embracing a two-lane cross-section with bulb-outs. There were also a few wacky design decisions that made me laugh, like the blue TWSIs (incorrectly oriented in most cases), rounded corner crosswalk marking (only at this corner), and one pedestrian signal placed above a secondary traffic signal head. The crosswalks were quite responsive, with pedestrian recall enabled, which always pleasantly surprises me. I also noticed the red clearance interval was about half a second, which is extremely rare, but felt appropriate at these intersections.
Shortly before Creston, we passed through the town of Erickson, which takes a different approach to pedestrian safety.
Thanks for reading! I've got more posts coming up soon, so stay tuned.