Some cyclists in Halifax are shifting into high gear in anticipation of a motion coming to Halifax Regional Council this week.
Mayor Andy Fillmore has indicated in a memo to council that he’s looking to put a pause on future bike lane development until a staff report on road congestion can be completed.
He is expected to bring forward a motion at Tuesday’s meeting to request the pause across the municipality.
But cycling activists say Fillmore is going back on election promises he made on the campaign trail last October.
“It’s such a turnaround for Andy Fillmore,” said David Trueman, the chair of the Halifax Cycling Coalition. “During the election campaign, he said, and I quote, ‘A fully connected bicycle network should be the priority for HRM.’ So, for him to turn around like this is just crazy.”
Trueman used the words “amazed,” “disgusted” and “astounded” to describe his reaction to Fillmore’s comments
For his part, the mayor said the motion is just to re-evaluate the design and cost of the all-ages and abilities (AAA) bikeway network project, which he said has ballooned to almost $100 million.
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“So this is what I’m asking council to do, to take a pause on rolling out further bike lanes until we can figure out which ones, which of the individual bike lane projects, are going to make congestion worse and then redesign them so that they don’t,” Fillmore said.
“That’s simple, that’s all I want to do.”
He added he is not opposed to bike lanes but said it needs to be done effectively.
“We simply can’t take away capacity for cars without replacing that ability to move around the city with something else, and that’s where we failed. So, that’s what I want to fix,” he said.
However, Trueman takes issue with the idea that cycling infrastructure is contributing to traffic congestion in the city.
“I believe that he is scapegoating people cycling. He’s looking for a target to score political points. Because he knows that bicycle lanes don’t cause congestion,” said Trueman.
Meanwhile, other councillors are considering Fillmore’s motion.
“We have to prioritize where we need the services and where we need to spend the money effectively,” said Coun. John Young, who added that looking for cost savings is important.
But Trueman argues that postponing the project won’t necessarily make the project cheaper.
“The cause of the escalated cost is the delay in building it. It was all supposed to be built by 2024, and the cost would’ve been much lower, but because of so many delays in the city the costs have escalated,” he said.
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