Greg Phelps

As a cyclist myself....do I have a conflict of interest?  Just kidding!

If you have been following the news lately you should have seen the story regarding council's support for the proposed pedestrian bridge near the 5th street bridge.  And no...it will not cost 4 to 5 million dollars as some have suggested.  In fact if we follow the model laid out by Ed Schum and the Timber Framers Guild, the costs could actually be quite minimal - especially when you compare it to infrastructure for vehicular traffic.  That added benefit, as Golden BC found out, was that it turned into a community building exercise as much as a bridge.  I have been urging people to visit their website and find out for themselves.

The city has been making progress in some areas and not so much in others.  We have partnered with others to bring in some excellent  speakers on cycling and cycling infrastructure.  We have also quietly been working away at a trail system all through the Marsden area (as new subdivisions open up) that will allow pedestrians and cyclists to make their toward the downtown area without the usual conflict with traffic.  Where the real difficulty occurs in in older subdivisions where this is not much room for bikeways.  Council has also been supportive, as has Courtenay Rotary, of the new Rail Trail, which when complete will go from 5th street down to 29th - and beyond.  Rotary has already committed to working with the city to build the next section.  The eventual plan would see a Rail Trail all the way from Courtenay to Victoria.  Can you imagine what a boom that would be for our tourist industry?  Council (the majority) also supported car free Sunday.  Yes, there was some push back - and yes, we have learned things to do slightly differently if we do it again next year.  And we have initiated discussion with Ducks Unlimited to try and obtain access for a pathway from east Courtenay. 

There have been some shortcomings:  Some projects managed to work their way through the system without consultation with the cycling community.  These are not big ticket items, and if caught early on, can be done quite easily such as bike lines through intersections.  As well...we seem to be studying Fitzgerald Avenue to death.  I would like to see some progress on this in the new year. 

The population of the city has been growing at 3% per year....however traffic has been growing at 9% per year.  This is unsustainable!  We can't just keep building more roads.  Some areas, like downtown Courtenay, would be destroyed if we tried to accommodate much more traffic.  A new bridge has been estimated at around 30 million dollars.  While it would be used by all the drivers in the Valley, it would be the city who would be on the hook for the costs. 

Am I going to go shopping at Costco on my bike in a howling southeaster - probably not!  But by making cycling and walking safer, we can move people out of their cars.

Thank you for the opportunity. 

Greg Phelps