North Saanich is set to build new bike lanes as part of a $1.5 million construction project.
The West Saanich Bike Lanes Phase 4 contract was awarded to Allterra Construction and will see West Saanich Road widened between Frizell Road to McTavish Road to accommodate the lanes.
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The District has a long-term cycling network plan included in the Official Community Plan and the new lanes will connect to existing bike lanes located to the north. Three bids were made, with Allterra Construction’s winning bid being half a million dollars less than its rivals.
The project, including design and contract process, is being funded from the Gas Tax Reserve, with a million dollars allocated in 2019. The District also received a $725, 000 grant from BikeBC earlier in the year, which pushed the funds available to $1.7 million, allowing it to comfortably meet the expected costs of the project.
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As per the Official Community Plan, the District has been keen on expanding bike lanes for quite some time, and the plans drew concerns and criticism from some residents, last year. A petition was started, and complaints were sent to the municipality and BikeBC, mostly from people concerned the lane extensions were creeping closer to their properties. They were unhappy with the road potentially being widened onto the verges buffering their driveways.
The new bike lanes are due to be completed by May 31, 2020.
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