In the midst of Bike to Work and School Week, a number of parents said more work needed to be done to make it safe for their children to cycle to class.
Last Thursday, dozens of parents and students gathered at Rose Park and pedalled their way through Loggers Lane to the intersection at Highway 99.
The group occupied one lane of the road and briefly scuttled traffic. The demonstration ended at Squamish Elementary, which is where the concerned parents’ children attend school.
It was a move that was intended to highlight the need for better cycling infrastructure.
“We were just hoping to bring some awareness of, I guess, the congestion and safety concerns that we have when we cross the route daily to get to school,” said Colleen Horsley, one of the parents riding at the demonstration.
Horsley said she lives at Seven Peaks by Brennan Park, and the majority of the route to school is safe, but things get challenging at the Highway 99-Loggers Lane intersection.
“We get to this point in our journey and it just gets a little bit hairy,” she said.
Parents involved in the movement said the pedestrian island at that intersection is too small to accommodate cyclists who are trying to get to school.
They also added that once people cross the street to the McDonald’s side of the road, there isn’t enough space to accommodate cyclists, who often wind up using the sidewalks as a result.
This is a problem for parents who have children that need to cross the highway in order to attend class, the riders said.
Some of these parents don’t allow their children to bike to class, said Teresa Rowley.
“They don’t feel there is a safe crossing for their children and, you know, I actually agree with that,” said Rowley.
The safest route to cross the highway is via the Sea to Sky underpass at the end of Pemberton Avenue, said Rowley, but this route takes cyclists through industrial areas that aren’t bike-friendly.
What parents would like to see, said organizers, is an overpass for pedestrians and cyclists that would start at the Adventure Centre, arc over the highway and finish at the other side of the road.
In response to the concerns laid out by parents, the District of Squamish said that it has been paying attention to the issue.
“The District is very aware of the active transportation deficiencies at Cleveland Avenue and Highway 99,” said general manager Gary Buxton in an emailed statement. ”We have a number of plans in preparation to work on this, principally the Downtown Entrance Study, which will look at a redesign of that section of Cleveland from the Highway to Buckley.”
He said that a request for proposals has been issued, and recommendations on the work are expected in the fall.
Buxton added that improvements are expected to be costly and will take some time to complete.
He also cited work that’s been done to improve cycling infrastructure since 2016.
“We implemented a number of intersection improvements following recommendations from a jointly funded Traffic Operational Safety Review of the Highway 99/Cleveland Avenue intersection,” he said. “Those improvements included Rose Park/Corridor Trail upgrades, countdown timers, improved signage and trail connection to the Corridor Trail and sidewalks, LED lighting, sightline work and sidewalk improvements.”
Buxton said the District has plans to improve pedestrian and bike routes on Hunter Place and make a more direct connection to the Buckley-Cleveland intersection to reduce the travel distance.
Any work within the actual Highway 99 intersection falls under the jurisdiction of the province, Buxton said.
As a result, that particular work is the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation.
“We are aware of the concerns expressed by parents in Squamish,” a ministry spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“Highways staff will follow up with the municipality to have a conversation about ways to improve safety – especially for those on their bikes. In addition, the municipality of Squamish is welcome to apply to BikeBC if they want to cost-share on a project to create more cycling infrastructure for the area.
The municipality would require Transportation and Infrastructure (Highways Department) approval before applying for this.”
Bike to Work and School Week took place from May 28 to June 3 this year.
