Town Council’s approval of the 2016 Active Transportation Capital Program at Monday’s meeting just made getting around Oakville on foot or by bike even easier.
“Council and I are proud to be adding 28 kilometres to the plan’s existing 185 kilometres of pedestrian and cycling paths in town,” Mayor Rob Burton said. “We are committed to providing residents and visitors with convenient and healthy alternatives to get around Oakville.”
By the end of 2016, implementation of over 28 kilometres of new cycling and pedestrian paths will have started for a number of different uses. Projects approved for 2016 include:
On-road cycle lanes
Along Bristol Circle around the entire length of Winston Park Boulevard; and along Winston Park Boulevard between Dundas Street and Bristol Circle.
Off-road multi-use trails
Along Cornwall Road between Chartwell Road and Morrison Road, and along both sides of Dundas Street between Neyagawa Boulevard and Oak Park Boulevard.
Sidewalks
Along Cornwall Road from Chartwell Road to Morrison Road, Wedgewood Drive from Constance Drive to Devon Road, Constance Drive from Wedgewood Drive to Maple Grove Drive, Trafalgar Road over the QEW overpass, and on Upper Middle Road at Ninth Line.
Signed bike routes
Along sections of Arrowhead Road, Devon Road, Hixon Street, Jones Street, Lees Lane, Linbrook Road, Pinegrove Road, Pinery Crescent, Rockingham Drive, Sandwell Drive, Sedgewick Crescent, Warminster Drive, Woodhaven Park Drive, Yolanda Drive, and Sunset Drive.
In addition, to encourage participation in cycling as an alternate mode of transportation the town will increase the number of bike racks/rings on the side streets in downtown Oakville and continue with its bike corral pilot project within the three BIAs. Town staff will also implement a number of public education and outreach projects such as updating the Cycle, Walk Oakville web-based and hard copy maps, and participating in the Active and Sustainable School Transportation program.
Finally, a major initiative for 2016 will be to continue the review and assessment of the entire existing active transportation network in order to develop a larger scale capital rehabilitation program to ensure our paths and trails remain in good condition. Completion of the multi-use trail rehabilitation along Rebecca Street from Third Line to Fourth Line, as well as a review and rehabilitation of the multi-use trail along the south side of Upper Middle Road from Third Line to the Smith Triller Viaduct will also continue this year.
Funding for the active transportation program comes from several sources including annual capital budget for new facilities, other capital budgets relating to road projects, sidewalk and multi-use trail budget, and capital maintenance budget for existing facilities.
The ATMP was introduced in 2009 and recommends an extensive network of facilities composed of on-road and off-road paths designed to respond to the needs of a range of active transportation users, age and skill level. Since then a total of 185 kilometres of bike lanes, pathways and signed bike routes were implemented as well as 110 bike racks across the town.
Later this year staff will be initiating the first update to the existing ATMP. Building on the success of the current plan, and the town’s approved transportation master plan, Switching Gears, staff will conduct an interactive public and technical agency engagement process to guide the update.
More information about upcoming active transportation projects for 2016 and completed/ongoing projects from 2015 can be found on the town’s website at oakville.ca and searching Active Transportation Capital Projects.