Fittingly during Bike Month, Oakville’s first fully protected bike lanes are set to open on Speers Road by the end of this month, June 2021.
A town press release says these lanes will "make it easier, safer, and more enjoyable to bike along this major connector road. Phase One (Third Line to Fourth Line) of the Speers Road reconstruction project is nearly complete and the protected bike lanes will be open for use at the end of June."
The bike lanes run one-way on both sides of this section of Speers Road, separated from traffic by concrete curbs and painted buffers. The town says the design "aligns with the town’s Active Transportation Master Plan (ATMP)."
"Launching Oakville’s first on-road protected bike lanes is a great stride forward in building a cyclist-friendly and pedestrian-friendly environment," said Mayor Rob Burton.
"It’s part of our commitment to Oakville’s Active Transportation Master Plan and the Community Energy Plan to make active transportation a viable and convenient option for getting around town. It’s one more way we’re making a more livable Oakville."
The bike lanes feature a unique shared transit stop that doesn’t require buses to pull into the bike lane when picking up or offloading passengers. Instead, buses stop in the roadway adjacent to the raised green transit platform. When a bus arrives, cyclists stop behind the white "shark’s teeth" line and yield to passengers boarding and exiting the bus.
How to use the shared protected bike lane / transit stops
Need a crash course to avoid crashes in the new lanes? Here's how to safely use the new protected bike lines:
If you are cycling:
- slow down as you approach the raised transit stop
- if a bus pulls up to the raised platform, come to a complete stop behind the white “shark’s teeth” pavement markings to allow passengers to board or exit the bus
- be prepared for buses lowering and raising the accessible ramp into the bike lane for transit customers to board or exit the bus
- after passengers have boarded and exited the bus and the doors have closed, you may proceed
If you are using transit:
- wait for your bus behind the tactile surfaces on the transit stop platform. Do not wait in the bike lane
- once the bus has pulled up to the raised transit stop, look for any oncoming cyclists
- if there are no cyclists, or if the cyclists have stopped, you are safe to cross the bike lane and proceed onto the bus
- if you are getting off the bus, make sure to look right for any oncoming cyclists before you cross the bike lane to the sidewalk
If you are driving a car:
- always yield to cyclists and pedestrians
- pay special attention and look for cyclists when turning left or right at an intersection or into a business or parking area
More information and a how-to video is available on the Town of Oakville's Speers Road Bike Lane page.
"To accommodate all active transportation users," said the Town, "this section of Speers Road has improvements for pedestrians as well." Some of these new improvements include:
- two new pedestrian signals
- new sidewalks
- upgraded street lighting
- new traffic signals at Third Line and Fourth Line intersections
- 14 Mile Creek bridge widening and rehabilitation
The Town says Phase Two (Fourth Line to Dorval Drive) of the Speers Road reconstruction, including extended protected bike lanes, will begin in 2022.
More information is available online directly from the Town of Oakville.