City wants feedback on skateboards in cycle tracks and other transportation bylaw changes

Skateboarders in the cycle tracks and a one-metre passing distance when driving past a cyclist are just two of the changes proposed for Calgary's transportation bylaws.

The city is seeking public feedback on the proposed changes until Dec. 9.

There are six proposalsfor Calgariansto comment on:

• Safe passing law with one-metre rule.
• Allow cyclists to yield, rather than stop, when entering or exiting a pathway from/to a roadway.
• Allow cyclists to signal with their left or right arm.
• Legalize use of non-motorized personal mobility devices like skateboards, scooters and inline skates, and mobility aids like scooters and wheelchairs,on Calgary's cycle tracks. Also, to allow non-motorized devices in public spaces like Stephen Avenue.
• Allow electric pedal assist bikes on Calgary Transit bus racks.
• Permit drivers to park in designated areas, even when there's no vertical curb.

The city says many of the changes are based on things that are already happening regularly and largely accepted. This would just codify, or clarify, the practices.

Some, like allowing electric bikes on transit, are just a matter of catching up with changing transportation technology.

Initiative and requests

Katie Levin-Ferg is a transportation engineer with the City of Calgary and says the changes are the product of city initiative and citizen requests.

"We're proposing these amendments to reflect changes in travel behaviour and to allow for the broader use of non-motorized personal mobility devices in the downtown core," she said.

Gary Millard, the president of Bike Calgary, says the group isgenerally in favour of the proposed changes and that it supports all modes of active transportation.

"Certainly there are some types of active transport that move at similar speeds and in similar ways as cyclists. So some scooters, anything that that's moving in that range, sort of 20 to 30 km/h range, would fit quite well," he said.

"Some of these things tend to move much slower. So you talk about electric wheelchairs, for example. They typically move more at walking to running speeds, and from what I understand, they travel fairly well on the sidewalk network. So we certainly wouldn't want to see a new conflict created by moving those into the cycling infrastructure."

Levin-Ferg, however, says the intention is to allow faster moving scooters and wheelchairs to use the cycle tracks if appropriate, rather than stranding them on the sidewalk no matter their top speed.

Millard said he hasn't heard any issues related to people trying to take electric bikes on the bus, but supports the change.

"I think it's wise for the city to expand their definition a little to allow those types of users to join the multi-modal transport options," he said.

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