With a few tweaks in the language, skateboarders, scooter riders and roller skaters will now be able to share the roadways and paths with cyclists, but they won’t be allowed on sidewalks.
Councillors gave the active transportation plan a bit of a facelift after accepting recommended changes to the Kelowna On the Move Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan on Monday.
Coun. Ryan Donn offered his support to the changes.
READ MORE: Fine-tuning Kelowna on the Move plan could make it more inclusive
“We want to get people out of cars and this is one way we can do that,” he said, adding the regulation changes adds “strength to the words” council uses to promote active transportation.
Children under 12 will be allowed on the sidewalk after the language was simplified in the bylaw. Before, the bylaw only allowed for push bikes or chainless tricycles and bicycles on sidewalks.
Coun. Maxine DeHart raised her concerns about safety.
READ MORE: Kelowna’s Lake Avenue to close for bike lane work
She asked active transportation co-ordinator Matt Worona if the new language means children under 12 can ride on the sidewalk with their parents and guardians. Worona said parents would have to ride adjacent to their child on the roadway.
“I think we know that’s not going to happen,” Coun. DeHart said.
Cyclists will no longer need to dismount their bike at specific roadways before crossing.
Road crossings like the one at Truswell and Lakeshore in Kelowna is marked with a repeating white square pattern — also known as elephant’s feet — signalling to cyclists they don’t need to get off their bicycle to cross using the pedestrian crosswalk.
READ MORE: Last chance for input on proposed Kelowna bike lanes
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