The City of Victoria is planning an extensive year-long education campaign as it rolls out a new scramble crosswalk and bike lane in the downtown core, CTV News has learned.
A new protected bike lane on Wharf Street and a first-of-its-kind scramble crosswalk on Humboldt Street are expected to open to the public in August this summer.
City staff say a plan is in the works to launch a public information blitz weeks prior to the opening and then continue education for the next year.
"We do have some new features we want pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to know about," said transportation planning manager Sarah Webb.
Radio ads, web videos and on-street educators will all play into the city’s plan to update people on a new-look downtown.
Humboldt Street will hold the most foreign piece of infrastructure coming to the capital: a scramble crosswalk.
At the corner of Government Street, across from the Tourism Information Centre, pedestrians will be able to cross in all directions during designated times.
The city’s rollout campaign will focus on teaching walkers, bikers and drivers to navigate the only scramble crosswalk in the region. On Wharf Street, lessons will focus on bike lane infrastructure.
"We’ve also got changes to parking and street layout where we have introduced new passenger loading zones, motorcycles zones and bike parking zones," said Webb. "We also want to educate cyclists so they can safely and conveniently connect to other bike lanes on Pandora and Fort."
The exact cost of the education cost is still being tabulated by city staff.
According to the city, both the Humboldt and Wharf street projects are on schedule.
