Incredibly there are over 7,000 kilometres of paved roads in Calgary. Out of all of this there are only 12 kilometres of bike lanes. Though at least there are some bike lanes, clearly this is unacceptable.

Calgary has over 660 kilometres of bike pathways. This is a great system if you are pleasure riding along the Bow River or through Fish Creek Park on a Sunday afternoon. The problem is if you use your bike to run errands or to get to work or to get to other destinations. Surprisingly according to the City of Calgary website, “as bicycles are recognized as vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act they should be afforded the same recognition as motor vehicles.” Everyone knows this isn’t true.

Biking through downtown is not for the faint of heart. It is like being in a real life Frogger video game. The worst part is going under the underpasses downtown. With curbs that reach half way up my shin and cars racing by you on the other side, it can be a harrowing experience. Clearly bikes were not on the minds of planners when they designed these roads.

Things are slowly changing though. Below is an evaluation of some of our bike lanes in the downtown area.

2^nd Street SW (10^th to 12^th Avenue)

This is the saddest little bike lane that you ever did see. It goes north and south for only 2 blocks. Can you say token bike lane? Thankfully the ride is over real quick. Not impressed.

Rating: Worst

10^th Avenue SW (Macleod Trail to 14 St )

This is the longest bike lane in the downtown area. It is similar to 2^nd Street SW in that it is difficult to tell that there is actually a bike lane. There is a sign on each block and a stencilled bike on the road, but that is it.

Riding on these kind of bike lanes is dangerous. Cars don’t respect the bike lanes and most likely don’t even notice that there even are bike lanes. The worst part is the lack of space between the parked cars and the moving cars. It is like the old sandwich is just waiting to happen when the parked car driver opens their door without looking. Trust me the car is going to win that one. When this happened to me I swerved into the side of an SUV. Thankfully my bike was ok and I just had a bloody knee and scraped hands. I wouldn’t call this a bike lane, it is more like a death trap.  

Rating: Third Place

9A Street NW (4^th to 1^st Avenue)

You can ride safely on this bike lane to get to and from the Memorial Drive pedestrian overpass. Though it is fading, at least there is a painted lane. Since it is a one way street with just enough room for one car, there is plenty of room between the bikes and the cars. Finally there are no parked cars on your right hand side so you can enjoy this ride. Unfortunately it abruptly ends.

Rating: Second Place

11^th Street SW (6^th to 12^th Avenue)

A full six blocks running north and south, this bike lane is the crème de la crème in the downtown area. Again there is a painted bike lane that clearly shows that there is actually a bike lane. There are no parked cars along the street to worry about. I love this bike lane and use it often to get to and from 17^th Avenue SW. If only there was a similar bike lane going north to south through the heart of downtown....

When you have been to Montreal and have had the pleasure of riding on their bike paths through downtown, Calgary is pretty disappointing. In Montreal, many bike lanes are separated from the road by mini plastic pylons or by concrete. It is quite a sight seeing throngs of bicyclists on the downtown bike pathways riding to and from work. They even seem to be enjoying themselves. You even see lots of wheelchair bound riders motoring along the bike path alongside the bicyclists, which is great to see.

To help move the City along in creating more and better bike lanes downtown contact City Hall by dialing 311 or via their website.