City officials and cyclists celebrated the official opening of a multi-million dollar project in Victoria over the weekend.
Victoria’s first protected bike lanes along Pandora Avenue opened on May 1.
The city’s mayor and dozens of cyclists marked the occasion with a ribbon and cake cutting outside City Hall on Sunday.
Victoria’s mayor says drivers and cyclists are still adjusting to the new rules of the road, but the overall feedback has been positive.
“There’s a lot of excitement … there’s a lot of use,” Lisa Helps said. “We’re seeing a 1,000 people a day and that’s a low estimate.”
Rob Gurnham says he uses the new bike lanes almost every day to get to and from work.
“It’s a lot safer than the way I used to go, I’m pretty happy about it,” said Gurnham.
Fort Street is expected to be the next phase of the Biketoria project and construction could start in the fall.
“By 2022, we'll have 25 kilometres of an all ages and abilities network and 75 per cent of people will live within a five minute walk of the network,” said Helps.
Cook Street and Wharf Street are slated to get separated bike lanes next year.
“What we’re doing first is building out the downtown first, which serves the most number of riders and also addresses the most number of issues with respect to safety,” said Fraser Work, director of engineering and Public Works with the City of Victoria.
