Edmonton council votes for bike lane, vehicle parking compromise on 50 Street

Plans for bike lanes on Edmonton’s 50th Street made their way to city hall Tuesday, as councillors responded to pushback and looked for ways to preserve parking options.

Capilano resident David Masluk isn’t against a bike lane in front of his house; he just doesn’t want to lose parking.

Masluk joined others to protest Monday night the planned bike lane on 50th Street between Goldbar Park and 101 Avenue this summer.

“Most of the houses on this front street do not have front driveways, and if they get any deliveries, whether it’s Amazon or Uber or whatever… if they get visitors, if they’re a senior and they get home care, if they’re not able to park out front, it would make a real mess in the back alleys,” Masluk, who lives on 50th Street, said Monday.

Tuesday at city hall, Mayor Andrew Knack said he believes council struck the right balance.

“This really falls in line with what we’ve heard from (Alberta Transport) Minister (Devin) Dreeshen. He talked about how he’s not opposed to bike infrastructure but he wants to see it done thoughtfully,” Knack said.

READ: ‘Win-Win’: Edmonton residents push to keep both bike lanes and parking spaces on 50th Street

The project is now delayed, with councillors sending it back to the drawing table to figure out how to have a bike lane while keeping room for vehicle traffic and parking for both directions of the divided road.

“Here’s a great example of for some additional cost, you can provide a scenario that’s win-win for everyone involved,” said Mayor Knack.

“You got your bike infrastructure, maintain your lanes of traffic, maintain your parking, why wouldn’t we do it?”

“It is important that when we have the right of way to do so, we look at how we can accommodate everyone,” added Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador.

‘The parking is not being used’

But not everyone supports the compromise.

Connor Barry, who bikes 50th Street regularly, says while he does understand resident frustration, bike infrastructure in the neighbourhood is needed, and homeowners have garages and driveways to park in.

“I’ve been on that street before, and I can tell you that most of the time the parking is not being used,” Barry told CityNews. “There’s the 50th Street pedestrian bridge right there. That would be an awesome opportunity to have a district connector coming across up north into the highlands area.”

City of Edmonton administration is now tasked with re-designing the project. For now, residents have some time before seeing bike lane construction on 50th Street.

–With files from Darcy Ropchan