Bike lane upgrades along a southwest Calgary road have a nearby business owner concerned that the city is advancing a plan that runs counter to its own public consultation.

The City of Calgary is moving ahead with Phase 2 of mobility improvements along 26 Avenue SW, in a $15.2 million project that includes protected bike lanes, bus aprons, pathway widening along the Crowchild Trail bridge, and a multi-use pathway.

Currently, there are painted wheeling lanes on both sides of the roughly 2.8-kilometre stretch.

The changes are being made along 26 Avenue SW between 14 Street and 37 Street. Construction is expected to start this summer, with the project lasting the next two years.

Killarney business owner Rose Crowley said that, initially, she had no idea there was a bike lane upgrade underway, as there were already lanes on both sides.  She then looked into both the Westbrook Communities Local Area Plan and the 26 Avenue mobility plan.

“To be honest, I think the city had two processes running and two sets of public engagement running and two plans running, and that they conflict with each other,” Crowley told LWC.

The mobility plan calls for the removal of some on-street parking stalls, which Crowley said is in direct conflict with the Westbrook LAP. It envisions a mixed-use of residential and commercial on the strip and includes the statement that “Parking policies and regulations need to be adaptive to current needs while enabling communities to be more responsive to future trends.”

She believes removing parking doesn’t meet the needs of the existing community.

 The City of Calgary’s project team for the 26 Avenue SW mobility project said that they’re aware that on-street parking plays an important role for residents, visitors, and businesses.

“Throughout the design, the project team worked to keep as much parking as possible while improving safety along the corridor,” they wrote in an email response to questions.

26 Avenue SW mobility outcome was pre-ordained: Crowley

Crowley said that the public engagement that was done through 2021, and then again in 2023, showed that most people preferred the multi-use pathway option that would keep both bikes and pedestrians off the street, providing both mobility and safety.

Three options were presented for public feedback, including a multi-use pathway along the entire strip, on street, barricaded wheeling lanes in both directions, and a blend of option 1 and 2. The City’s webpage lists the benefits and trade-offs of each option.

Crowley feels as though the option the City’s going ahead with was already set in stone.

“The reason I say that is because I have gone back and pulled out the documents from the engagements that they did and literally found that that’s the result,” she said.

“The option that they picked was the lowest ranking of the three that were presented.”

Her concerns come as a third-party review of Calgary’s public engagement showed there are gaps in the application of the City’s “gold standard” public engagement policy.

The City of Calgary’s What We Heard Report confirms Crowley’s findings.

“Options 1 and 2 were mentioned as a top choice by an equal number of participants, while option three (hybrid option) was chosen significantly less often than the others,” read the What We Heard Report.

The City of Calgary said that the feedback focused on improving safety, supporting multiple travel options and making it easier to access key local destinations.

“The project team reviewed all options against public feedback, City transportation policies (including the 5A Guiding Principles), community impacts and cost,” read their email response to questions.

“The preferred option was identified as the best option that balances safety, project goals, and community considerations. It allows for separation of travel modes in key areas while retaining parking where demand is higher.”

That is Option 3, which has protected bike lanes on both sides for some distance, and then a switch to a multi-use pathway.

They said that feedback was collected and changes were made to the design to address concerns.

“These include refinements to crossings and visibility, as well as the addition of transition areas to improve how people move between on‑street and off‑street facilities,” they said.

“Since detailed design began, the project team has also worked directly with individual property owners to review access, loading, and parking needs on a case‑by‑case basis and adjust plans where feasible.”

Compromises have been made: Coun. Schmidt

Ward 8 Coun. Nathan Schmidt said that he’s had contact about the issue and has specifically talked with Crowley about her concerns.

“The public spaces team has made some compromises to keep some of the existing parking on the street from the commercial businesses,” he said.  

“All I hear is that pedestrian safety, traffic deaths, collisions, those are the concerns.”

Schmidt noted that the separated bike lanes were an important addition to the plan, given that a man in his 60s using the lanes with an e-bike last year was struck and killed at 26 Avenue and 32 Street SW.

“With a death that occurred in this area on those existing bike lanes last summer, safety is the primary thing on my mind when it comes to adding bike lanes or improving existing bike lanes,” he said.

Schmidt said it’s about balancing the needs of businesses, mobility users, and the public who is on foot.

“I think that once this is built out, and once we see the changes, so many people walk and bike in that area already, that it could actually increase business due to foot traffic as well,” he said.