Last night I attended an open house held by the City of Winnipeg’s consulting partner in their efforts to add more bike/walk/rollerblade infrastructure. One of the fascinating dimensions of doing so that had never really crossed my mind was winter, and snow removal.
For example: If the city builds double wide sidewalks that can accomdate bike traffic, it requires an investment in specifically sized snow-clearing equipment and time to run that equipment – which makes budgets untenable.
Similarly, if the city wanted to demarcate bike lines with curbs, those reflective nodules bolted into the pavement, or anything similar – well, the first snowplow of the season is going to scrape them off – that’s why the city has relied on paint to date.
On a positive note, creative minds are at work to devise solutions that fit both our sprawling tax base and the need to keep cyclists safe. The best idea I heard was to use rumble strips – make the strip as wide as the painted line on the street, and drivers suddenly have a great haptic reminder when they invade the bike lane. And, rumble strips won’t get scraped off by snowplows, won’t wash away like paint, don’t interfere with cross-traffic (like curbs), and still allow for parking.
Winter bike commuting is an arduous process, but there’s groups at work to make it safer and easier – though not any warmer!
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