Blocking bike lanes — and writing tickets

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/10/2024 (360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Anyone who cycles regularly in Winnipeg has probably seen them: cars or trucks blocking bike lanes.

It is illegal to park or stop a motor vehicle in a bike lane. Doing so is subject to a $70 fine. Trouble is, it is — at best — loosely enforced and overly reliant on public complaints. It is not a priority for the city. It should be.

If the city is serious about promoting active transportation as a viable way of traveling to work, school and other destinations, it has to make bike lanes a priority. It also has to make safety in bike lanes a priority.

That includes ensuring they’re not used as parking lots or loading zones by cars and trucks.

The city handed out 70 tickets between January and August this year to motorists who were blocking bike lanes. That’s roughly two tickets per week on average.

It doesn’t seem like much, considering how common it is to see vehicles blocking bike lanes throughout the city.

Even the fine amount, $70, does not seem that high. A larger fine might help hammer the point home that it’s not OK to park a vehicle in a bike lane. Not only does it obstruct the path of cyclists, it is unsafe because it often forces cyclists off bike lanes and onto roadways.

City officials say they rely primarily on public reporting to respond to blocked bike lanes.

The problem with that is enforcement officers often arrive too late after a call is placed and the offending motorist may no longer be there.

The city should be doing more patrolling as a pro-active way of discouraging this practice.

A public information campaign would also be useful. Many motorists see bike lanes as optional pathways for bikes. They think the paths, even the protected ones, are fair game for parking their vehicles. That culture has to change.

An information campaign launched by the city, perhaps in collaboration with bike groups, might help more motorists realize that blocking bike lanes is not only an inconvenience for cyclists, doing so is dangerous.

In Toronto, bicycle patrol officers are often tasked specifically with monitoring bike lanes across the city. They also recently raised their fine amount from $60 to $200. Toronto has made the safety of bike lanes a priority. Winnipeg should consider doing the same.

Winnipeg has made good progress on expanding protected bike lanes across the city, including downtown.

However, much more needs to be done to make the city’s bike network more inter-connected. There are still far too many gaps in the network when travelling between certain destinations.

Public opinion polls and surveys have shown consistently that people are more willing to cycle as a mode of transportation if they have access to safe, unobstructed protected bike lanes.

While there are far more bike lanes in Winnipeg today than there were a decade ago (especially protected ones), the city still has a long way to go to expand that network.

But more bike lanes alone is not enough. They must be kept safe, clean and unobstructed. They should be given at least as high a priority as roads — if not special attention for a period of time — if the city truly wants to encourage people to get out of their vehicles and onto bikes. It’s a culture shift that needs to happen.

If Winnipeg is serious about fighting climate change, promoting active transportation should be a priority. Ensuring bike lanes are safe and accessible is an important part of that goal.