Halifax could be getting another bike lane! Next Wednesday, May 3rd, a meeting will be held at the Halifax Forum Maritime Hall (beside the bingo hall) at 6:30pm (presentation at 7) to discuss a possible bicycle lane on Almon Street, running from Stadacona to Westmount. This bike lane will provide a much-needed east-west connection in the middle of the Peninsula, connecting the Windsor Street bike lane and a future north/south local street bikeway on Isleville, Fuller, Northwood, Maynard, and Creighton. We are all for this enhancement, and need your support to make sure it happens. Details on the event can be found here and online consultation details will be shared on May 4 on Shape Your City Halifax.
Overview Almon Street & the proposed bicycle facility types being considered.
The proposed lane will feature a mix of painted bike lanes and sharrows. Our concern around this proposal is that sharrows have been found to be an ineffective treatment to improve safety for people cycling. Proper bicycle lanes, especially protected bicycle lanes, are needed. This will result in additional removal of on-street vehicle storage and we want to work with the city to identify a reasonable accommodation for displaced parking stalls on the stretch between Gottingen and Agricola, where the sharrows are proposed. This is a key connection due to its proximity to the future local street bike lane.
Halifax is making great strides in proposing new bicycle infrastructure on the peninsula. In the last two years, protected bicycle lanes were added on University and Rainnie, a bike lane was added on Hollis & Devonshire, and upgrades & extensions have been proposed for South Park Street. While the Halifax Cycling Coalition would like to see more projects open and at a faster pace, we would like to see something on the street that will actively improve safety conditions for people cycling! We need your support to ensure that Almon gets a bike lane this summer and that whatever is installed supports more cycling in Halifax.
