PARTS OF a busy industrial strip of road will be widened, repaved to be cyclist-friendly.
Bike lane upgrades were announced just in time for spring, which means cyclists have twice the reason to rejoice.
A grant of $41,300 was announced March 18 by the provincial government to help the city of Terrace install bike lanes on Kenney St.
Construction of the 1.5m-wide lanes, which will follow both sides of Kenney from Graham to Keith, commences late May or early June, and will span 784m.
This is a cost-sharing agreement, so the city has matched the provincial investment to make the total amount $82,600, which comes from part of a larger resurfacing project, said Tara Irwin, the city’s sustainability coordinator.
This stretch of Kenney St. was identified as a priority area for upgrades in Terrace’s 2009 Active Transportation plan as it has a lot of children walking and cycling to school, Irwin said.
Mayor David Pernarowski called this project a step towards making Terrace a more cyclist-friendly city.
“It’s always a benefit to the community when we can add infrastructure like bike lanes to our transportation routes. The City of Terrace appreciates the provincial government funding to help us achieve our active transportation goals,” Pernarowski said.
The grant was originally applied for in 2012 through the Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program (CIPP).
“The goal of the program is to promote cycling to work, school, or errands as a means of reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” Irwin said. Terrace was one of 20 communities throughout B.C. that received one of these BikeBC grants, drawn from a total fund of $7.36 million.