Edmonton bike talk:

Speaking with my co-workers today, we thought that it would be nice to have a critical mass bike ride out here in the west end. I was thinking maybe along 95 Avenue or the 100 Avenue Multi-Use Path.

95 Avenue was once an official bike route, and in 2015 the City of Edmonton was awarded a National safety award (2015 Decade of Action Road Safety Award from the Transportation Association of Canada) which they had to return because they voted in that year to REMOVE the bike lane along 95 Avenue which was a part of the recognition granted by the award.

(To be fair they promised to build better infrastructure, but that obviously never happened. Until now, which I'll get to...)

Since then it has become a major throughway for automobile traffic and very hostile to bikes, but still an essential route for bicycles due to lack of any other options, and the existence of service roads on 95 Ave which allow cyclists to get away from the hostile traffic most of the time, but has them jumping in and out said hostility because service roads are NOT throughways, and were never intended to be.

The previous bike lanes created a diet on the road, which slows down traffic and makes the community safe and accessible. Since its removal, I have been accosted by drivers who scream at me to get off the road, telling me, "You belong there!" while pointing at the sidewalk, then turn into the neighborhood where all the school zones and playground zones are, and blast through them so fast I immediately lose them on the horizon. Residential roads should not be treated as highways.

There is a Mulit-Use Path along 100 Ave which is a nice route for part of this commute, but the problem with that is that commuters are usually trying to get somewhere, and in the case of west-end commuters, that somewhere is usually in the area of 170 Street or west of it. The MUP stops short at 163 Street and then becomes impassible to active transportation from there. In other words, it's a nice MUP... which connects to nothing! This is problematic, and what the "Complete Streets" initiative was designed to combat.

That's the difference with 95 Ave, is it goes all the way to 170 Street then spills out into nice quiet roads in the Terra Losa/La Perle/Belmead areas which active transportation users can safely use to get where they're going in the west-end business and industrial zones. But getting that far can be a nightmare along the current 95 Ave.

The city is now finally planning to finish a proper "Complete Streets" cycle route along 95 Ave from 149 St to 189 Street, replacing the underused service roads on both sides of the street with a usable active transportation pathway. They promised to do this in 2015 when they voted to remove the bike lane, but of course failed us completely. This is an essential commuter route to west end commuters using any kind of active transportation. I see men and women on their road bikes, ladies on their eBikes, and everything in between (like me). Many are hesitant to use this route because of the poor condition of the service roads and the aggressive automobile traffic on the main road.

As expected, there is a lot of vitriol already stemming up from the anti-bike crowd to stop the city from completing this project and making right their wrongs from 10 years ago. They are planning on including this as a wedge issue in the upcoming municipal elections.

So please, help me to stand up for safe, inclusive transportation for all! Everybody benefits from it, including those who don't use it, or use it for other means than intended. From wheelchair users who gain independence of travel to emergency services, deliveries, and everybody else who is constantly stuck in traffic from unnecessary and inefficient personal automobile use. And most importantly in my very personal opinion, children and their families who can LIVE and MOVE safely in their own neighborhoods. There is nothing more important than that.

TL;DR So after all that digression on the state of 95 Avenue, I'll get back to what I wanted to ask in the first place, which is... who would be with me on a west-end Critical Mass? It doesn't have to be on 95 Ave (which is currently not a nice place to ride), but anywhere to show people the great need for active transportation for commuters in the west-end area. Maybe the 100 Ave MUP would work well, for the pleasure and safety of the riders. Most of the Critical Mass rides happen in the downtown, Old Strathcona, or south side areas, and these areas are finally getting some attention. We need attention in the west. People are dying out here.