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Region’s bike network taking shape Like most suburbs, York Region grew up in the age of the automobile, but regional counâ€" cillors spent part of last week learning how to get people to trade four wheels for two. "You can’t go to another region and see what they did. You’re going to be inventing this," Alta Planning and Design principal Jeff Olson told councillors, describing how to construct a viable network for pedestrians and cyclists Mr. Olson's New York firm has helped develop nail systems in cities such as Portâ€" REGIONAL NEWS: Car culture shift needed to increase bike uses BY DAVID FLEISCHER d fleischerfvbyrmg. com The workshop emerged from discussions on how best to build bike lanes along busy regional corridors, such as Hwy. 7. land, Ore, and he emphasized the region is in a unique position to lead the charge. The road is a congested, high-speed route that isn’t welcoming to cyclists, but it is expected to urbanize over the next 10 or 20 years, with bike lanes set to go in as soon as construction of Viva’s bus lanes continues. While the goal may be to have a shared road, the regional system seems to have been built for a different purpose, Markham Regional Councillor Gord Landon pointed out. “It’s a balancing act and I think there are ways to do things in between, during that transitional decade," Mr. Olson said. It costs the region about $7,000 a year to maintain a kilometre of road. That rises to $8,000 with the addition of paint and signs. A complete physical separation could increase costs to $28,000 a kilometre. What planners know to be safe might not make riders feel safe and it is crucial to create a comfortable environment, engineer John Robinson said. That means focusing on engineer- ing, education of riders, enforcement of traffic rules and constant evaluations of what works. Mr. Olson showed a wide array of pos- sibilities for bike lanes, ranging from painted lanes on existing roads to coloured lanes, lanes protected by buffers on either side and lanes segregated with concrete, for example. Context is crucial, Mr. Olson and Mr. Rob- inson emphasized, saying different treat- ments are appropriate for difi'erent environ- ments. While costs can seem daunting. Mr. Olson said Portland bike use rose from less than 1 per cent to 8 per cent of trips, “The difference in a decade is we’ve gone from communities wondering whywe should do this, to asking how we can do this best?” Mr. Olson said. ' Some councillors wondered about how Our weather is also a challenge and the region will hear the costs of adjusting snow removal strategies to ensure it’s not dumped in bike lanes during winter, transportation commissioner Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas said. to fundamentally change the suburban car culture and how to avoid the perception that there is a “war on York adopted a pedestrian and cycling master plan in 2008, earmarking $45 mil- lion over 10 years for updates, maintenance, education programs and other aspects of the network Less than 25 per cent of the cyclists sur- veyed felt safe on the road. Others com- plained about drivers going too fast, not sig- nalling and not sharing the road. Studies found about an even split between those cycling for recreation and those using bikes to commute. “A full-scale recognition of the opportu- nity for people who do road cycling to make full use of the regional system isn’t really there yet," Newmarket Eagles Cycling Club presi- dent Andrew Darke said. They also complained routes were hard to find, there was no way to take a bicycle on transit and no safe place to leave it at a destination. “There is a culture of cars versus bikes. in the sense that the primary objective (of road building) is to cater to cars."