London is considering $ 40 million for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure from unused BRT funds


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London, Ontario. –

It would be one of the largest active transport investments ever made in London.

In a new report, the city engineer recommends that the council allocate $ 10.7 million to unleash the remaining $ 29.3 million in high-level government funding in the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) as of 2019.

The combined $ 40 million would accelerate numerous cycling and pedestrian infrastructure projects planned across the city

“Anything we can do to expedite active transport funding is a tremendous opportunity,” said Jamieson Roberts, chairman of the town hall’s Cyclists Advisory Committee.

“The big thing that is missing in London is a minimally viable network of connected, safe triple-A cycling infrastructure.”

Recommended projects include:

  • 14 million US dollars are building new bike paths
  • $ 11.5 million Widening bridges for cycle paths Widening bridges
  • US $ 4.5 million expand Thames Valley Parkway with a boardwalk along South St.
  • AODA Compliant Intersection Upgrades valued at $ 4.3M
  • $ 4 million to renew boulevard bike paths along Wonderland and Adelaide
  • US $ 1.5 million build new pedestrian crossings
  • $ 200,000 additional bike parking

“It takes a long time to build active transportation networks,” explains Doug MacRae, Director of Transportation and Mobility. “We try to make them as coherent as possible, and that’s part of the strategy behind the projects we have identified.”

The federal and state funds are left over from the financing of local public transport and active infrastructure funding, which London offered for the first time in 2019.

At the time, the city council considered 10 projects, including all five lines of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, but ultimately failed to consider the north and west routes.

MacRae says City Hall will consider improvements to London transport in these parts of the city when work on the mobility master plan begins later this year.

“The federal and provincial governments have been fairly consistent in supporting these types of projects, so I see many opportunities for further development.”

Jamieson believes that a fairer distribution of the community’s capital would better support the improvement of infrastructure for all modes of transport.

“Cycling, local traffic and pedestrians get a small part of the cake,” he complains. “If we spend money on cycling, it may mean that we are taking money away from these other modes of transport.”

The city’s share of funding for the $ 40 million list of active transportation projects will come from the existing capital budget.

To qualify for the third stream of ICIP funding, projects must be shovel-ready and essentially complete by October 31, 2027.

The municipal utility committee will deal with the project list at its meeting on January 11th.

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