FAQs

Greenways are multi-modal public transportation corridors that connect people and places together. They are often used by people walking, wheeling, and cycling to work, school, retail areas, parks, and other neighbourhoods. These corridors are also envisioned to include space for additional landscaping and trees. The design for upgrades to this section of the Rotary Crosstown Greenway has yet to be chosen, and certain options would accommodate more trees and landscaping. Your input will influence the design that is recommended to Council. Similarly, the route for the NWSS Cycling Connector project has yet to be chosen. Your input will influence both the final route and the design features.

The primary users of the Greenway will be people cycling but could also include walking, skateboarding, rollerblading, using a wheelchair, or pushing a stroller, among other uses. However, motor vehicles will still be able to use the adjacent street area.

The primary objectives of these initiatives include: 

• Providing cycling facilities that are safer and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities
• Enhancing walking experiences, the public realm, and improving accessibility where needed
• Growing the tree canopy and providing opportunities for green Infrastructure
• Reducing the impacts of motor vehicles and through traffic in this neighbourhood
• Limiting the impacts to people who rely on on-street parking
• Limiting the impacts to key transit routes

We want to hear what you think about these two projects. In September and October, we are hosting a range of engagement opportunities for stakeholders and the public to get involved in and provide input, including stakeholder conversations, a community survey, pop up events, and more.

Temporary “parking-protected” bike lanes were installed along Seventh Avenue between Eighth Street and Fifth Street in 2017. These bike lanes were an interim measure put in place to test the concept of protected bicycle lanes until the City was able to renew underground utilities and while we undertake the design process for permanent greenway infrastructure. Now that the utility work is complete, we can upgrade the street and improve facilities for all road users.

Three options have been developed for this section of the Rotary Crosstown Greenway. Option 1 involves providing protected bicycle lanes and retaining on-street parking on both sides of the street. Option 2 involves providing protected bicycle lanes as well as additional streetscape enhancements such as street trees and landscaping, but would retain parking only on one side of the street. Option 3 involves creating a shared street for people cycling and motorists and would retain parking on both sides of the street. Ultimately, the final design will determine where parking will be permitted.

This project will provide an important connection to enable students, staff, and visitors to NWSS to bicycle from the Rotary Crosstown Greenway to the school site safely and conveniently from the south and east. It will connect high-quality cycling infrastructure on the school site with the City’s cycling network.
 

The City is considering three routes for the NWSS Cycling connector to link Seventh Avenue to the east entrance of NWSS. The first option would be via Fifth Street. The second option would be via Sixth Street, and a lane connection between the 900 and 800 block of Sixth Street. The third option is a hybrid route via Fifth to Eight  along Eighth Avenue to Sixth Street, and along Sixth Street to the east entrance of NWSS.

The City wants to ensure that we pick the best route for cyclists of all ages and abilities, as well as balance the trade-offs and impacts of doing so.

The first (via Fifth Street) option would be a less direct connection to NWSS from the Rotary Crosstown Greenway, but would be more comfortable for cyclists, vehicles and transit as there is less traffic. Resident parking and driveway access could be impacted with this route.

The second (via Sixth Street) option would be the most direct connection from the Rotary Crosstown Greenway to NWSS. This would allow cyclists to safely and comfortably access the school site. However, this corridor has high transit and traffic volumes, which creates potential for conflict with cyclists and could cause disruptions. In addition, one side of parking would likely be removed. 

The third (hybrid) option takes advantage of the lower traffic volumes on Fifth Street, avoids impacting the parking on Sixth Street and resident impacts with the lane connection between the 900 and 800 block of Sixth Street, but creates a more indirect route.