Birch Street is a bike route in the City's Master Transportation Plan. It is a local street and the City plans to upgrade it to a neighbourhood bikeway. The first phase will be a reduced speed limit from the current default 50km/hr to 30km/hr, which is recommended in the BCAT Design Guide for a neighbourhood bikeway. The second phase (budget permitting) will be to install traffic calming measures to encourage lower speeds. The goal is to encourage cycling by making Birch a safer more comfortable bike route and to target all ages and all abilities.

The City's Official Community Plan and the City's Master Transportation Plan both encourage walking, cycling and transit use. Encouraging these modes reduces pollution, reliance on fossil fuels, reduces collisions, congestion and makes for healthier individuals and healthier communities.

Birch Street is identified as a bike route in the City's Master Transportation Plan. It is a north-south street, approximately 3km in length. The north end connects to downtown. The south end passes near the Dogwood multi-use path, which continues south to Jubilee Parkway, at the very south end of Campbell River. Major destinations along Birch Street are Phoenix Middle School, Pinecrest Elementary School, the hospital, Centennial Park and outdoor Pool, Robron Park and Robron Centre.

The City intends to upgrade Birch Street to a neighbourhood bikeway. The first phase will be to lower the speed limit on Birch from the default 50km/hr to 30km/hr. Subsequent phases will be to install traffic calming measures (speed humps, speed cushions, traffic circles and curb bulges) to encourage lower speeds. Subsequent phases will also include bi-directional bike lanes on Robron Road (360m) and on 7th Avenue (240m) to link the Birch bikeway with Dogwood Street and Alder Street.

Lower speeds are safer for vulnerable road users for three main reasons: 1) Vehicles take less distance to stop at lower speeds (stopping sight distance drops from 65m at 50km/hr to 35m at 30km/hr). 2) Vehicles traveling faster have a narrower field of vision and are less likely to see objects (pedestrians / cyclists) that are not directly in front of them. 3) If a vulnerable road user is hit by a vehicle, the likelihood of serious injury or fatality drops significantly at lower speeds (at 50km/hr, survival rate is 60% compared to a survival rate of 90% at 30km/hr, ref ITE and converted from mph.)

While the main goal is to encourage cycling along Birch Street by making it safer and more comfortable for all ages and all abilities, there are other benefits. A reduced speed limit makes the road safer and more comfortable for pedestrians - especially as some blocks are missing sidewalks. A reduced speed limit also makes the neighbourhood more livable, which is feedback that residents have often provided.

Photo source: Pixabay. Photo is shown for illustration purposes only and may not be an accurate representation of the project.