Colwood cyclists navigating Latoria Road may feel safer in the future as plans for protected bike lanes move forward.
Existing buffered bike lanes – painted lines on the road separating cars from cyclists – will be replaced with protective infrastructure such as precast concrete curbs. The $166,000 project was endorsed by the City of Colwood at their May 1 meeting.
According to Joshua Baylis, manager of engineering, 170 metres of Latoria Road’s bike lanes have been earmarked to be retrofitted with protective curbs.
The project also involves the removal of a ‘parking scallop’ – located between Creekview Lane and Bezanton Way – connecting two bike lane segments.
At the April 22 meeting of the city’s Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, members agreed to recommend to council that the Latoria Road project be endorsed as a priority for 2025.
The committee also recommended that staff consider extending the Latoria Road bike lane project from Bezanton Way to Latoria Creek Park, with available funds.
The extension would mean a protected bike lane on Latoria Road from Veterans Memorial Parkway to Wishart Road.
It was also recommended by committee members that plans to convert buffered bike lanes on Goldstream Avenue, between Sooke and Wale roads, be bumped to 2026. More information was needed by some committee members about the potential impact protected bike lanes could have on parking, before the project can go ahead.
Protected bike lanes for Mount View Avenue did not receive the support of the Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, for now.
A few members felt cyclists on the stretch of road do not need protection from other vehicles. Taylor Wickman said he would rather the $22,000 earmarked for Mount View go towards “something more impactful.”
Throwing her “two cents” in, Coun. Cynthia Day reminded committee members Mount View is used by residents as a “safe route” to Colwood Elementary School and the Hulitan Early Childhood Years Centre on Sooke Road.
However, committee members felt more information is needed before moving forward with any project for Mount View.
The city’s buffered-protected bike lane program was first initiated in 2023 with the objective of improving safety and comfort for cyclists.
In the fall of 2023, the city trialled protected bike lanes on 310 metres of Painter Road. Forty-seven residents took part in a public survey after the trial, with 68 per cent “strongly supporting” the installation.
The city considered the committee’s recommendations at a special council meeting on May 1, approving them as part of their consent agenda.
According to a staff presentation, construction and installation could start later this year in October/November.
