Calgarians push back against 3 Avenue South bike path removal

Inner city community groups and hundreds of Calgarians are fighting to save the 3 Avenue South cycle track after the city said it would tear it down.

The track was introduced in 2020 as a detour for the Bow River Pathway Reconstruction and extends from 8 Street SW to Centre Street.

The project, dubbed the 3 Avenue South Walking and Wheeling Upgrades Project, is meant to make it easier to walk and “wheel” along the path.

According to city data from 2018, 3 Avenue South is “one of the busiest cycling routes in the centre city.”

Doug Clark, vice president of Bike Calgary, says the cycling community is “baffled” at the city’s decision.

“[The path] has been proven to be very popular, very successful at moving people in and out of the downtown core — not just as an alternative to get along the river,” he told CityNews.

WATCH: Calgarians petition to save cycle track

“A considerable number of folks in the active transportation cycling community are quite baffled, actually, that the city would now spend money to take the infrastructure out when it has been shown to be reasonably successful.”

Clark would like the city to consider keeping the path adjusting it as necessary, rather than completely removing it later this year “when they deem the detour not necessary anymore.”

Project Calgary has started a petition to save the cycle track from being torn down, so far, more than 1,200 people have signed.

The group says it obtained an unreleased city report through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, which showed that six times more people cycled on 3 Avenue South in the first year of the track. They add that the majority of post-installation survey respondents reported “feeling safe on the street” and “satisfied” with upgrades.

In another report, the city says it received following an FOI request showing that the cycle track and increased number of people biking on the avenue didn’t impact parkade operations along the street.

The group claims “recommendations to address peak period queuing issues in parkades while maintaining cycle tracks appear to have been ignored by the city.” They also say that Calgary is ignoring its own Downtown and Climate Strategy, explaining that removing the track would be “counterproductive to attracting more residents and bringing vibrancy to the downtown core,” which is the goal of the strategies.

Letters of support have been submitted by several organizations, including community associations, festivals, advocacy groups, and companies with downtown headquarters.

In a statement to CityNews, the City Manager’s office said that the cycle track was designed as a detour around Eau Claire construction and was “always intended to be temporary,” with removal scheduled for fall 2023 when the work along the river was finished.

“We recognize the temporary detour has been successful in improving active transportation connections to businesses, residences, transit, and existing pathways and bikeways while the Bow River pathway was closed as a result of the improvement program,” the city said. “We also recognize circumstances associated with the downtown have changed.”

The city adds that the next step is to re-engage with the community and businesses before it removes the track.

“The purpose of this engagement is to better understand what the city needs to consider when 3 Avenue S. becomes a permanent bikeway, including timing,” it concluded.