This past week Brampton Council voted 10-1 in favour of removing the bike lanes along a section of Howden Blvd. between Williams and Dixie. Councillor Santos was the only member who upheld Vision 2040 and the principles of good city building. There is no candy-coating this; it is a huge blow to the city’s plans for sustainable transportation.

It’s hard for me not to take this personally. My wife Dayle and I started BikeBrampton 13 years ago to encourage the city to build an active transportation network that would offer a safe, convenient and relatively comfortable alternative to the car for short-distance trips. Until last week, it’s been slow but reasonably steady progress. Over the past decade or so, the city has created a subdepartment under planning for active transportation. It hired an active transportation specialist and supporting staff. An active transportation master plan was created and unanimously passed by Council in 2019. That plan outlined a connected network of pathways, sidewalks and bike lanes across the entire city that would be built out over 20 years.

The plan also outlined the compelling reasons why cycling must be an important element in the city’s long-term transportation strategy. The traffic demand management experts have done the calculations and determined we are in big trouble if the historical growth in the use of cars continues, particularly for single occupancy vehicles. As the city’s population tips over 1 million residents in the next few years, Brampton will not only run out of road space, it will run out of space to build roads unless a higher percentage of people choose transportation alternatives other than the personal automobile. Straight and simple. If we want to avoid traffic chaos and road related carnage both now and in the future, more people must choose transit, walking, cycling, and micro mobility for short-distance travel.

Encouraging people to walk, cycle or jump on transit starts with giving them the confidence that, if they choose a mode of travel other than the car, they can still get to their destinations, conveniently, and in relative safety and comfort. There are many aspects to what it takes to create this confidence. But table stakes is for the city to build a network that is as comprehensive as the existing road system while limiting interaction between motorists and vulnerable road users such as cyclists.

Sidewalks serve this purpose for pedestrians. They are physically separated from faster moving traffic and are reasonably comprehensive in allowing walkers to get from home to destinations that are maximum 1-2 km away. Adult cyclists cannot use sidewalks. For one thing it is illegal do so in Brampton. And sidewalks are not designed for bicycles travelling faster than about 12 kilometers an hour. Mixing pedestrians and fast-moving utilitarian cyclists is not a good idea. Safety becomes an issue on this type of facility the faster you go. For this reason, multi-use paths are also not a valid option for cyclists or e-scooters wanting to get somewhere quickly and conveniently.

Bicycles are allowed to use the road. But the speed variance between bicycles and cars leads to potential conflicts and safety issues. Depending on the speed and volume of traffic on the road, it also reduces the comfort level for cyclists meaning most people will not ride even if they want to.

Dedicated bicycle lanes provide a cost-effective and reasonably safe alternative. Installing a separated bicycle path in the boulevard can cost 5 to 50 times as much per kilometer compared to on-street bike lanes. And, bike lanes only need to be installed along certain roads of the network to provide key connectivity allowing cyclists to travel to virtually any part of the city in relative safety.

In 2020, just as COVID hit, the city introduced the “Streets for People” program which started in earnest to build out the network described in the active transportation master plan. Perhaps the most important connection in the plan is the east-west cycling corridor encompassing, Vodden, Howden, North Park, Central Parkway, and Cottrelle once the bridge across the Bayridge Valley is complete. This stretch of road midway between Queen and Bovaird runs almost the full width of the city. It uses collector roads that were historically “over-engineered” so that bike lanes could be used as a traffic calming measure to reduce speeding and aggressive driving behaviour. It connects the three major pathways that run north and south through Brampton’s rivers valleys. It also connects residential areas to literally hundreds of destinations, areas for recreation employment and commercial activities. This section of roadway is uniquely suited to act as the spine for active transportation across the city.

Unfortunately, change inevitably is met with resistance. Even though cycling usage has increased significantly in recent years, motorists still saw the bike lanes as being mostly empty. They became frustrated with the loss of road space for automobiles, There was particular frustration at intersections where there was no longer a dedicated lane for right-hand turners. With road construction on Williams and Dixie that encouraged more cut-through traffic along Howden, residents became increasingly upset. They demanded action

Last summer, Council directed staff to analyze several options. After conducting numerous public feedback sessions and reviewing the data, staff recommended an option that would maintain the bike lanes along most of the road section but move those lanes into the boulevard at the intersections allowing for dedicated right and left-hand turns for motorists. A cost-effective and reasonable compromise which would help alleviate resident concerns while still maintaining this key piece of infrastructure for cyclists.

Here is my frustration. With the exception of one, Council, fueled by the resident anger, determined they were not prepared to support this compromise, or any compromise for that matter. The only thing that would satisfy them was complete removal of this section of the Howden bike lanes, which threatens to render the active transportation master plan useless.

I started riding my bike primarily for environmental reasons. In Brampton, transportation represents the largest source of carbon emissions. I’m very concerned about climate change, (as should we all be). Dayle and I had taken the usual steps to reduce our carbon footprint, changing light-bulbs, increasing insulation, sealing doors and windows, etc. There are very few things that we as individuals can do to address the climate crisis. I was looking for more, and riding my bike to short-distance destinations seemed like a good way for me to help the planet while staying in shape at the same time.

Brampton has the potential to be bicycle friendly. We are a suburb yes, but we are also a city of close to a million people while enjoying extraordinary population growth. Most of our trips taken by car are less than 5km. Cycling changes the environmental fabric of the city. It allows us to grow up not out and in a healthier, less polluting way that connects to our communities and encourages support for local businesses.

It’s time we all decided what kind of city we want to live in, today and in the future. If you care about this issue, (and you should); if you care about your future and the future of your children, (and I’m sure you do), then write your councillors and tell them you support active transportation. Tell them you support bike lanes!