cycling blind spots & missed opportunities in the salt spring island master plan for upgrading the...

7/30/2019 Cycling Blind Spots & Missed Opportunities in the Salt Spring Island Master Plan for Upgrading the Fulford Harbour Terminal

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CYCLINGBLINDSPOTSANDMISSEDOPPORTUNITIESINTHESALT

SPRINGISLANDMASTERPLANFORUPGRADINGTHEFULFORD

HARBOURTERMINAL

SUBMITTEDBY:ISLANDPATHWAYSBICYCLEWORKINGGROUP

SUBMITTEDTO:BCFERRIES,CAPITALPLANNING&ANALYSIS

ThisisoneofaseriesofphotographsofFulfordSchoolchildrenthathavebeenmountedonbuildingsin

theVillage.Theyarepartof alarger inside/outprojectthatgivesvoiceto unheardcommunities.Niks

wishissimple:Iwantbikepathsonislandbecausehopefullymorepeoplewillridebikes!

http://www.insideoutproject.net/#/sp/2cPYVW

September2011


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DATE: 15September2011

FROM: BrendaGuild&JohnRowlandson,BicycleWorkingGroup

TO: EmmaMcWalter,Manager,CapitalPlanning&Analysis

BritishColumbiaFerryServices,Inc.

SUBJECT: CYCLINGBLINDSPOTSANDMISSEDOPPORTUNITIESINTHESALT

SPRINGISLANDMASTERPLANFORUPGRADINGTHEFULFORD

HARBOURTERMINAL

Background

On10July2011,BCFerries(BCF)andMinistryofTransportation&Infrastructure(MOTI)

staffattendedanOpenHouseto:a)presentadraftMasterPlan(MP)toupgradethe

SaltSpringFulfordandVesuviusterminalsand;b)solicitresidentfeedback.TheMaster

Planspansa20-yearperiod.

AlthoughtheMPaddressesterminalupgradesinVesuviusandFulford,thisbriefrelates

onlytotheFulfordHarbourfacility.TheFulfordterminalandtheMOTIroadbedwhich

augmentsmotorvehicleaccess/egresstoferriesisthebusiestofallBCFminorroutes.

Onaverageabout640,000passengersincluding5,000cycliststravelthrough

Fulfordeachyear(Table1).

Thousandsmorecyclistsaugmenttheiron-islandholidayexperiencebybringing

bikeshereontheirvehicles.

TheIslandPathways2010CyclingSurveyshowsthatmostresident(76.4%)and

visitingcyclists(61.4%)enterandleaveSaltSpringIslandfromtheFulfordterminal.

Table1:FulfordTerminalPassenger/CyclistVolumes2009-10&2010-11


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ThemajorityofcyclistscometoSaltSpringbetweenMayandSeptember.Their

presencecorrespondswiththelargestvolumesofpedestrianandmotorvehicletraffic

throughFulfordVillageandthehighestlevelsofterminalcongestion.

CurrentState

TheMPisaresponsetolongstandingdemandsforimprovementtothefacilitybySalt

SpringIslandersanditinerantterminalusers.Specifically,ithighlightsfourmotorvehicle

andpedestrianchallengesandproposessolutionsacrosstwophasesofwork(Table2).1

Table2:Challenges&SolutionsIdentifiedbyBCFerriesfortheFulfordTerminal

Challenge ProposedSolutionLimitedholdingcompoundcapacity Phase1:widenroadandestablish3lanes(one

holdinglane2activetrafficcorridors)

Safetyoffootpassengers Phase1:improvefootpassengeraccessand

exitto/fromterminal

Nodesignatedpick-upanddrop

off-area

Phase2:createpickupanddropoffarea

Limitedparkingforcustomers Phase2:createshort-termparking

Itassumesthattrafficvolumes(thenumberofpassengers)andmodalsplit(thewaysin

whichferryuserstravelonvesselse.g.walking,cycling,drivingmotorizedvehicles)will

remainmoreorlessconstantacrossthe20-yearplanninghorizon.

FutureState

Overall,theMPproposestoexpandtheexistingparkingareaandtheappropriationof

publicroadbedforuseasaholdinglaneandpedestrianwalkway(Figure2).ThePlan

anticipatesthatthesemeasureswillmitigatecurrentsafetyandtransportationdemand

issuesattheterminal,i.e.theywillreduceriskofpersonalinjuryanddecrease

congestionforusersandresidents.

GapsAnalysis

Noconsiderationisgiventocyclistsorcyclingaccess/egresschallengesintheMP.Other

thanthedepictionoftheexistingbikelanewithinthePhaseIIcompletiondrawings

(Figure1),cyclistsarenotrepresentedinconceptualorengineeringdrawingsnorare

cyclingsolutionsidentified.

1

Unless otherwise noted, references are to the PowerPoint slide deck presented by BC Ferries staff at the10 July meeting. Copies of the Master Plan were unavailable.


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Figure1:Phase2CompletionProposedParkingLotExpansionandIncorporationof

theExistingBikeLaneintotheUpgradedTerminal

TheabsenceofcyclistsandcyclingissuesintheMPisstartling.TheMPsfailureto

identifycyclingrisksorbenefitssuggeststhatgoodfortunewillprevailandthatserious

cyclingaccidentswillbeavertedasaresultofBCFinaction.

ThisvoidalsoreflectstheincorrectBCFassumptionthatmodalsplitandmodalvolumes

onitsvesselswillremainmoreorlessconstant.Agrowingbodyofevidencesupportstheviewthatcyclingasaday-to-dayandcommutingactivityisgrowinginCanadaand

acrossNorthAmerica:2

IncreasingnumbersofCanadiansarecyclingforhealthandfitness.Seniors,

particularlyintheGreaterVictoriaandVancouverareas,areadoptingcyclingasa

strategytoimproveandmaintaincardio-vascularfitness.

Municipalitiesarecreatingnewbikelanestomeetcarbonreductionrequirements

Individualsareusingtheirbikestoreducetheirpersonalcarbonfootprint

Theelectricbikeisbeingadoptedasawayfornewandoldcycliststocopewiththe

undulatingterrainandlongdistancescommontoBC

BusesandotherformsofmasstransitthroughoutBritishColumbiahaveadopted

bicyclecarriersandmanymunicipalitiesactivelyencourageuserstomakemulti-

modal(bike/walk/transit)travelchoices

Massproductionandmarketingofbicyclesmakethemthemostaffordableformof

transportationinNorthAmerica

2

The City of Vancouver, for instance, cites cycling as its fastest growing method of transportation: nearly60,000 trips are made by bike each day (http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/stats.htm).


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Inadditiontotheseregional,nationalandglobaltrends,theMPfailstoacknowledge

SaltSpringasoneofNorthAmericasmostpromisingcycletourismdestinations.Salt

SpringIslandisinproximityto4ofthetop5cyclingcitiesonthecontinent.Cycling

modeshareinVictoriais5.6%(thehighestinCanada).Vancouverisclosebehindwitha

3.7%cyclingmodeshare.Similarly,Portland,Oregonhasthehighestcyclingmodeshare

intheUnitedStatesat5.7%andSeattleisthirdhighestat2.99%.

Theeconomicimpactofcycletourismissignificant.More

than65%ofcycletouristsearnmorethan$60,000per

year.Cycletouristsstayinareaslonger,tendtopurchase

moredisposalgoodsbecauseoftheirlimitedcarrying

capacitygeneratenocarbonandnotrafficcongestion.

Accordingly,conservationists,recreationalcyclists,and

equestrianshaveworkedalongsideCowichanandCapital

RegionalDistrictplannerstodeveloptheSalishSeaTrail

Network(SSTN).Oncecomplete,itwillbeamongthe

mostsoughtaftercycletourismroutesontheplanetand

SaltSpringwillbethejewelinthisparticularring.Research,however,showsthat

naturalbeautyandqualityaccommodationsarenotenoughtoattractcycletourists.The

areamustalsodemonstratethatcyclistsarewelcomeandthattheyareabletosafely

sharetheroad.TheBCFinabilitytoperceivecyclistsdoesnotaugerwellinthisregard.

ImpactofGaps

Ingeneral,theMPfailstoapplytransportationdemandmanagementprinciplesand

approaches.Itneitheraddressesnoranticipatescyclingbehaviour,doesnothingto

reducetheriskofcar/cyclistcollisionsanddoesnotimprovecyclingsafetywithinthe

BCFservicesfootprint3.Rather,BCFproposestocollaboratewithMOTItorepurpose

publicroadresourcestoincreasea)storagecapacityforparkinglotoverflowandb)

providepedestrianaccess/egresstotheterminal(Figure2).

3The BCF services footprint (the area in which the company plans to store overflow parking on public

roadbed) extends north from the intersection of Morningside and Fulford-Ganges Roads to just beyond theintersection of Fulford-Ganges and Beaver Point Roads, a 300m long by 10.75m wide traffic corridor.

SalishSeaTrailNetwork


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Figure2:ProposedBCF/MOTIRepurposingofPublicRoadbed

Specifically,theMPallocates10.75mofMOTIroadbedacrossfiveusecategories:

cementbarrier,northboundtrafficlane,southboundtrafficlane,parkinglotoverflow

laneandpedestrianwalkway.Proposedroadbedrepurposing,however,excludes

cyclistsfromthemodalmixandintroducescycling-specificbarriers(Figure3).

Barriers

SouthboundCyclists

Cyclistsheadingtotheferryterminalmustnavigatearoundtheholdinglaneand

pedestrianpathwayandintothesouthboundlane.AtthecornerofMorningsideand

Fulford-GangesRoad,cyclistsmustthenstoptrafficbehindthemuntilitissafetocross

throughthenorthboundferryvehicleexhaustlanewhereitjoinstheexistingin-terminal

bikelane(Figure1).

NorthboundCyclists

Cyclistsexitingtheexistingin-terminalBCFbikelanearechallengedattheintersection

ofFulford-GangesandMorningsideRoads(Figure3).Heretheyencounter:

a. animmediate,steepandcontinuouscyclinggradeoutofFulfordVillage

b. suddenintegrationwithalargevolumeofmulti-directionalvehiculartraffic(to

theirrearupto120motoristsexitingtheferry;intotheirpathmotorists


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turningrightfromMorningside;acrosstheirpathsthoseturningleftonto

Morningside)

c. disorientation:ageneralunfamiliarityamongvisitingcyclists,includinglackof

judgmentaboutterminaltrafficflownorms,littleknowledgeaboutlocal

directionsorlandmarks,ferrypick-up/drop-offbehavioursbyvisitingandon-

islandmotoristsandextrememeasurestakenbymotorvehicledriversand

pedestrianswhencongestionismostacute

d. thecrowdingeffectoncyclistsofa1mhighcementabutmentastheyclimb

northboundoutofFulfordVillage

e. theabsenceofanyBCFpersonnel,prominentsignageordedicatedfacilitiesto

guidecycliststhroughtheBCFservicesfootprint.

Figure3:CyclingHazardsproposedbyBCF/MOTIRoadbedRepurposing

BarrierstoBlindSpot

BCFbarriersconstituteacyclingblindspotintheMasterPlan.Together,thesebarriers

reducecyclingsafety,increasetheriskofpersonalinjuryandcar/bicyclecollisions,

enhancetrafficcongestionandencourageaggressiveandunpredictablebehavioursby

motorists,cyclistsandpedestrians.TheabsenceofdesignatedsouthboundandnorthboundbikelaneswithintheBCFservicesfootprint:

violatesthespiritandintentofthe1992MOTI/IslandsTrustLetterofAgreement

(http://www.islandstrust.bc.ca/tc/pdf/orgagrdec081992pro.pdf)and1999Cycling

RouteInventorytobuildbikelanesonbothsidesoftheroadseparatedfrom


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vehiclelanesbypaintedlineswhenupgradingroadbedondesignatedcycling

routes.4

doesnotconsiderthesafetyandcongestionproblemsthatthephysically

challenginghillclimboutofFulfordVillageposesforcyclistsusingthenorthbound

lane,particularlyforthosecyclistsengagedinfamily-orientedholidayswithyoung

children

failstoanticipatehighlevelsofunfamiliarityanddisorientationamongcyclo-tourists

visitingtheislandforthefirsttimeandtheimpactthattheirdisorientationmayhave

ontrafficflowsandpotentialforcollisionandinjury

suggeststhatBCFwishestodiscouragecyclistsfromusingitsvesselsandfacilities

disregardstheprovincialcodatosharetheroad

ProposedSolution

TheproposedsolutiontocyclinggapsintheMPistoincorporatecycling-specific

infrastructure(bikelanes)andinfostructure(signage,standardsandbusinessprocesses)

toencouragecyclingasasafeandconvenientmodeoftransportation.

Figure4presentsonesuchsolution.Thegraphicreconfiguresthe10.75mspace

proposedbytheMPandincorporateskeycyclingrequirementsbyreallocatinglane

widthsandmakingthefollowingassumptions:

Pedestriansandcyclistscansharea1mlanealongeithersideoftheroad

At3m,theoverflow[holding]laneistoowide.ExistingholdinglanesintheFulford

BCFparkinglotaverage2.49m.CarlanesontheSkeenaQueenare2.6m

Acementbarrierborderingthenorthboundlaneunnecessarilynarrowstheroad

andrestrictspedestrianaccesstosmallbusinesses

Adedicatednorthboundbikelanewilleliminatetrafficcongestioncurrentlycaused

bycyclistswhoslow,wiggleand/ordismounttheirbicycleswhenclimbingthe

hilloutofFulfordVillage

Paintingthebikelanesandshowingthattheyareformultipleuserswillmakeit

easierforcycliststomovesafelyandseamlessly,insinglefile,toandfromthe

Fulfordterminal

4The Island Trust completed a Cycle route inventory on Salt Spring in 1999. This document was updated by

the CRD in 2005. In that same year, Salt Spring aligned with Cowichan and Capital Regional Districtplansto interconnect with the Salish Sea Regional Trail Network. Salt Spring cycling routes were formallydesignated within the Official Community plan in 2008 (Appendix A).


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Figure4:BicycleFriendlySolutiontoFulfordHarbourAccess/Egress

Conclusion

BCFsMPdoesnotreflectcurrentdemographictrendsandlifestylepreferencestowardscyclingnordoesitalignwithviewsofbicycleutilityandvaluewithinthetransportation

demandmanagementcommunity.TheMPsnearexclusiveconcernwithmotorvehicles

demonstratesanacuteblindspotinits20-yearvision.

Thevolumeandvarietyofcyclistswillcontinuetoincrease.Thiswillreflectalargeand

growingpopulationbaseofcyclistslivinginregionalurbancentresandadjacent

municipalitiesaswellascyclistscomingfromfartherafieldtotravelportionsofthe

SalishSeaTrailNetwork.ShouldBCFcontinuetoincreasethecostofmotorvehicle

accesstoitsvessels,additionalnumberswilladoptbicyclesasmoreaffordablemodesof

transportationforcommutingandrecreationalactivities.

Whiletheremaynotbeacausalrelationshipbetweenifyoubuildit[then]theywill

comethereisnodoubtthatinfrastructurehasasignificantcapacitytoanticipate,

shape,accelerateand/orconstraindemand.Byfailingtoadoptfundamentalbikelane

principlesestablishedbetweentheIslandsTrustandMOTIalmost20yearsago,BCFis

situatingitselfasaspoiler.


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Choosingnottoenableorevenperceivecyclingasalegitimatemodeoftransportation

willincreasetheriskofinjuryandtheintensityoftrafficcongestion.Specifically,BCF

failuretoincludebicyclesasamodalstandardwilllimitthecapacityofIsland-based

businesses,institutionsandindividualstofullyengagetherecreational,economicand

healthbenefitsofcycling.Simplyput,residentsandvisitorswillmostcertainlysuffer

economicallyand,perhapsmortally,fromBCFsinabilitytoadapttoachangingmodal

environment.

Recommendations

Wemakethefollowingrecommendations:

1. BCF,asaMOTIpartner,mustadoptapublicservicecommitmenttobothservecyclistsandkeepthemsafe.Modificationofapublicroadbedmustfollow

longstandingprovincialmandates,policy,visionandrequirements,incorporate

standardsembeddedinhistoricalagreements(suchasthe1992Islands

Trust/MOTILOA)andpractices,suchas,allowingnarrowervehiclecorridorsto

accommodatebicyclelanes,andallowingvariancestoroadwidthinkeeping

withtheIslandcharacter.

2. DedicatednorthandsouthboundbikelanesmustbeincludedintheMasterPlan

guidingtheFulfordterminalupgrade.

a. Cyclingaccessandegressshallbeseamlessfromtheferryramptothe

intersectionofBeaverPointandFulford-GangesRoad(thetermination

pointoftheproposedoverflowparking[holding]lane).

3. BCFmustengagethecyclingcommunityaspartofitsMasterPlanningprocess.

Specifically,BCFshouldinviterepresentativecyclingorganizations(e.g.theBC

CyclingCoalition,theGreaterVictoriaCyclingCoalition,IslandPathways)to

participateinaCyclingWorkingGroup(CWG).ThepurposeoftheCWGwouldbe

toreviewandprovideadviceoncyclingrequirements,standardsandmeasures

relatedtoinvestmentinandupgradingofBCFterminals

4. BCFshouldrequireitsroadengineeringandtrafficmanagementstafftocompletecertificateprogramsintransportationdemand/mobilitymanagement.

5. BCFshouldadoptcommunitybenefitasacriterionwithinitsMasterPlanning

process.


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APPENDIXA:CYCLINGROUTESASDESIGNATEDINTHEOFFICIALCOMMUNITYPLAN

cycling blind spots & missed opportunities in the salt spring island master plan for upgrading the...

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