There still seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the new bike lane rules and the newly painted bike markings on Prince George roads.
The topic came up at the first Talktober session last night in Prince George.
“It’s not been perfect by any means but the reality is it is the first kick at the can,” says Councillor Jillian Merrick, who championed the changes. “The decision to remove parking from bike lanes was delayed for quite a while – there were requests for more information and then it kept coming back to Council – so staff weren’t given a definitive decision about it until the very last minute.”
She says there is an upside to the multi-stage process.
“At least it gives people time to ask questions and to learn without getting a ticket because, come next spring, once we’ve got the signs up and once bike season is in full swing, we will be expecting people to follow the new rules.”
That means sharing the road where marked and not parking in 69 of the city’s 72 kilometers of bike lanes.
Merrick says she anticipates answering lots of questions during the rest of Talktober.
“I’m just excited about it and if people have ideas about what the next step is and how we can keep on improving, please come and talk to me.”
The next event takes place in The Hart on Oct. 18.