Victoria has often been referred to as Canada’s cycling capital, and now the city is backing up that claim with some big bucks.
A $300,000 contract to design the city’s new cycling corridors has been awarded to a group being dubbed “the international dream team of cycling.”
It includes consulting contractors from cycling-friendly cities around the world such as Bogota, Copenhagen and Portland.
“If I imagine some of my foreign friends in Denmark who started cycling there, they would have a hard time cycling here in Victoria,” said Denmark’s Andreas Rohl, the former director of Copenhagen’s world-famous bicycle program.
The consultants, who toured the city on bikes Wednesday, said Victoria has potential to become a world-class cycling city but must address a few key concerns first.
The group will work to identify half a dozen or so priority corridors for construction over the next three years.
The first phase will be a two-way barricaded bike lane on Pandora Avenue between Cook Street and the new Johnston Street bridge.
The city has dedicated just under $8-million overall for the three-year cycling infrastructure upgrades.
Exactly how that money will be spent will be determined by the “dream team” as well as public consultation.
The planning phase of the city-wide cycling network is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
