As ISL’s Sustainable Transportation team grows and evolves, we’re fostering collaboration across offices to share knowledge and expertise. Recently, Roy Symons, our Sustainable Transportation Specialist, and Dan Zeggelaar, our Sustainable Transportation Lead, came together in Edmonton to give a presentation to the Northern Alberta ITE Chapter, as well as take some time to explore Edmonton’s active transportation infrastructure. This article covers the key points of the ITE presentation and presents insights on new and interesting Edmonton infrastructure.
ITE Presentation – Lessons from the Dutch
Starting at the University of Alberta, Roy and Dan presented “Lessons from the Dutch” for the Northern Alberta Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). This presentation showcased innovative ideas from the Netherlands that can trasnsform active transportation in Canada.
Previous ISL projects were shared to demonstrate Canadian examples of Dutch design techniques, including protected bike lanes, signal and stop-controlled protected intersections and continuous sidewalks and bike paths.
Roy and Dan also highlighted plans to apply Dutch-inspired designs to 7 km of new active routes in north-central Edmonton, to be constructed in 2025.
If you missed the “Lessons from the Dutch” presentation, ISLers Roy and Scott will share similar insights at the CEA Transportation Connects Alberta Conference in March. Many of these lessons can also be found in Roy’s book Fietspad, a Journey Through the Netherlands Documenting its Bicycle Infrastructure.
Exploring Edmonton Infrastructure
After the presentation, Roy and Dan took to the streets of Edmonton to tour some innovative active transportation elements in Edmonton. Read on to explore the findings from Roy and Dan’s active transportation tour of Edmonton.
Roy
While visiting Edmonton, I stayed on Whyte Avenue, one of the city’s most vibrant streets in the Old Strathcona district. The hotel room provided a unique perspective of the scramble crosswalks in the snow.
The scramble crosswalks undoubtedly have an impact on vehicles but give pedestrians more options. Perhaps the thing I liked best was the dynamic ‘No Turn On Red’ signs that activate only during the pedestrian scramble phase. You could argue they still have a function during the opposing vehicle phases, but it does at least improve safety for people walking.
Signs such as these are something I’ve been wanting to include in designs as they’re far more attention grabbing than static signs. A perfect example for these dynamic signs on the bike network would be where we have shared through and right turn vehicle lane next to a bi-directional bike lane and permissive right turns across the bike lane. Using these signs with a ‘yield to bikes’ graphic would better highlight the need for drivers to look for people on bicycles in both directions and of course yield to them. I noticed a few other similar signs serving different functions which was pretty neat. Another lesson learned, and something I had literally just been sharing in my slides the previous day with the Dutch ‘Let Op’ sign.
I feel like we’re getting better at Wayfinding, I liked the pedestrian orientated signs on Whyte Avenue.
Everything was generally snow covered while we were out, which, on one hand doesn’t give you a full appreciation of the design elements under the snow, but on the other, it does let you see how things work in the snow. When we did Metral Drive in Nanaimo, there were definitely some questions about the use of continuous sidewalks and bike paths in the snow. Edmonton shows it can be done, so it’s great to see continuous sidewalks taking off.
We saw a few examples, using varying setbacks from the roadway, some with flared curb ramps and some with curb returns and setback ramps, but retaining the raised element and continuous surface that is of course so critical to demonstrating priority and managing user behaviour. The bollards immediately next to the bike path are decorative and help define the local street edge in the snow and force a slow and tight turning path to and from the side street.
Other interesting elements include yield signage for vehicles approaching the sidewalk, unlike the stop controls we used in Nanaimo, but also small yield signs for people on bikes wishing to cross the road, suggesting that Alberta has similar issues with elephants’ feet as we sometimes have in BC. Ideally there’d be elephants’ feet and bikes on the crosswalks sign to give people cycling priority.
The corridor also includes bus stops and yield to pedestrian signage where people access the bus stop pad.
The next stop was a one-way street with two-way bicycle traffic, a common treatment in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe too, where it’s common to see a ‘No Entry’ sign with an ‘Except Bicycles’ tab underneath. I don’t see too many examples in North America, in fact I think this might be the first example I’ve seen. More of these would be great.
While the street might have seemed quiet when we were there, the first thought is that this could still work as a two-way and be reasonably comfortable, but at the same time acknowledging that we were there in the middle of the day, and that the one-way traffic restriction does of course typically cut traffic volumes in half. I didn’t get a full appreciation for the corridor, but I’ve always liked the idea of opposing one-way sections along one-way streets rather than a continuous one-way corridor, as it effectively stops any rat running in either direction, and should reduce traffic to only those that live on the block.
Moving on, I’ve seen photos of the Blatchford Roundabout many times and it’s one of the best examples of a Dutch-style roundabout in Canada. A big difference from those in the Netherlands is that the bike path hugs the roundabout tightly instead of making a perfect circle. This has the benefit of slowing down people on bikes in the crossings, but the snow provided a unique insight into how people were using the roundabout on a bicycle, possibly not wanting to make the tight turn when the ground is slippery. I’d be curious to observe this on a good day.
Dan
Nearing the end of our tour, we stopped along the 83 Avenue bike routes, one of the first protected bi-directional bike facilities built in Edmonton. Back in 2015, ISL completed the concept and preliminary designs with inputs from the community and stakeholders, before passing it to the city to finalize and build. The route includes about 2.8 km of protected bi-directional bike lanes, connecting from Mill Creek to the University of Alberta. Before construction, typical September cyclist volumes were around 280 per day, but since completion, have grown to over 1,000 cyclists per day. Dan worked on this project and is proud to use it regularly. More information on the project is still available on the City of Edmonton website.
Such growth in volumes is a huge success, and will only continue as the City builds out the bike network. More connectivity to/from the routes, such as connections along Gateway Boulevard or Calgary Trail are one idea. The Edmonton Bike Plan also includes significant expansion of routes in the Bonnie Doon area that would connect to these routes, with construction anticipated in 2026.
The final stop was near the Valley Line LRT to check out the relatively new stations on 83 Street NW. It’s nice to see the rapid transit system expanding.
Global Insights, Local Solutions
From presenting Dutch-inspired transportation solutions to exploring Edmonton’s active transportation infrastructure, ISLers Roy and Dan are dedicated to researching global best practices and determining how to implement lessons learned in a local context.
As ISL’s Sustainable Transportation team continues to grow, so does our dedication to continued learning, sharing expertise, and creating solutions that not only enhance safety and connectivity but also demonstrate the potential for sustainable transportation to transform communities.
Interest in learning more from Roy and Dan?
Roy and Dan will both be presenting at the CEA Transportation Connects Conference on March 4, 2025.
|
Engagement for Active Transportation Projects |
Lessons from the Dutch: We Still Have a Long Way to Go |
About the Authors
Roy Symons – P.Eng.
Roy is a Sustainable Transportation Specialist with ISL working out of the Burnaby office. He supports active transportation projects across all ISL’s locations.
Check out Roy’s blog and books at www.rollinginthecity.ca
Dan Zeggelaar – P. Eng., PTOE, PTP, RSP1
Dan is ISL’s Sustainable Transportation Lead in the Edmonton office. He specializes in active transportation planning, redevelopment studies, transit, road safety and network strategies.