Nakota Isga councillor Andrew Knack regularly holds “community conversations” in his ward. The public is welcomed to a school gym or community league hall for a conversation about a pressing issue, and other councillors and representatives from other orders of government are invited.
I attended a fiery one in 2023, with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi onstage. Multiple times, community members stood up and ranted about bike lanes, asking “how dare the City allocate $100 million to them?” Resident after resident stood up and declared that the bike-lane budget was the make-or-break issue that would determine the 2025 election. People stood up and told the mayor that they looked forward to the day that he wasn’t the mayor, anymore. There was applause, there were catcalls, and Knack had to ask for the attendees to remain civil.
It was a prime example of how the construction and maintenance of bike lanes have become so divisive in our city. When city council raised taxes by 8.9 per cent in 2024, bike lanes were once again a prime target for the public’s wrath. If the snow isn’t shoveled on time, bike lanes are blamed. If the buses run late, it must be the damn bike lanes. If there’s a traffic jam, well, just look at the bike lane over there!
City council, despite inflationary pressures, protected the $100 million allocated to the expansion of the bike lane network. And it is repeatedly brought up as its greatest sin.
But, is it? I am not a cyclist. In fact, my balance is so awful, I have a hard time staying upright on a bike.
So, I am not a bike-lane user. But what I do care about is bang for our tax-paying bucks. If there’s a return on the City’s investment, then we all benefit, cyclists or not. So, we need to look at bike lanes like we do the City’s decision to spend more than $225 million for Rogers Place. The reasoning was that Rogers Place was good for downtown, that it would attract new development and business to the core, so it was worth it.
We should apply the same measuring stick to bike lanes. In a truly pragmatic sense, is there a return on the $100 million?
The 102nd Avenue corridor in Wîhkwêntôwin features a bike lane, and it’s seen a host of new high-density residential and retail projects completed in the last five years, with more to come. The 27-storey MacLaren and the two-phase, seven-storey Mercury Block anchor the community. Henry Edgar, CEO of Autograph, which developed both of those projects, told us in January that bike lanes were a factor in deciding to build on 102nd Avenue.
“You’ve got elm trees and bike lanes and bricks-and-mortar retail,” Edgar said. “Ultimately, all of that contributes to a sense of safety when you’re walking around in the evening. We feel really confident about the success of our developments in this area.”
Just down the street from Autograph’s buildings is the hole where the 185-unit Jameson will soon stand. Robert Horvath is the principal at Vancouver-based Open Sky Developments, which is building the project. He said construction should begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
Not only is he bullish on bike lanes, The Jameson will house its own bike-repair station for residents. Horvath said Open Sky will also build a public bike-maintenance stop on the lane near the building.
Horvath said that before Open Sky decides on a site, the company looks at a variety of factors: Walkability scores, the ability for residents to access schools, get to rec centres and shop locally.
“A lot of that comes down to transportation — how do you get where you want to go?” says Horvath. “Can you walk there? What other means of transportation do you need? Biking is somewhat weather-dependent, but it’s definitely something that helps get people from where they live to where they want to go in the neighbourhood.
“In talking to people in that neighbourhood, particularly that part of Wîhkwêntôwin, there are a lot of people who walk or bike to where they want to go. It’s not a driving neighbourhood.”
He says it’s a sign that, yes, people are embracing different modes of getting around. And developers pay attention to how a city changes.
“The City is investing in this type of transportation. Do we want to take advantage of it and build off it?” says Horvath. “I think it’s great that it’s there.”
While Horvath is based in Vancouver, he’s managed several projects in Edmonton, and many of the people with whom he’s interacted told him there’s a strong culture of cyclists in Edmonton who will ride no matter the weather. And, now, as The Jameson site is prepped for construction, he hears more and more about bike lanes — but not from the naysayers who dominate the social-media discussion and community forums.
“I think it improves connectivity with the neighbourhood. On a regular basis, I talk to people in Edmonton, and they tell me ‘I was bike riding and I went by your site.’ The bike lane adds value and we want to build off of that.”
When Mauricio Ochoa moved to Canada, he was stunned by how much we use our vehicles. In Medellín, capital of Colombia’s mountainous Antioquia province where he’s spent time, there is a subway system and a gondola, the MetroCable, that connects neighbourhoods in a municipality where severe elevation changes are the norm. There is heavy bike usage and communities are built to be pedestrian-friendly.
He owns FCX Developments, which is building the “missing middle”— town-house developments in Edmonton. FCX has projects in Grovenor and High Park. And, Ochoa says that he seeks out parcels of land near bike lanes as potential building sites. He is keeping an eye out for future bike-lane development. To him, bike lanes give him a reason to invest.
“What can I do as a builder to improve my community? That’s the goal,” Ochoa says as we meet for coffee at The Colombian Coffee Bar in Glenora. “Bike lanes, for developers, are actually beneficial. First of all, we attract more tenants. We attract different types of tenants who have more community engagement. They get really involved in their communities, because they don’t commute for too long.
These are the people who go to the local coffee shops, they go to the local stores. These people enjoy the amenities around the community.”
As Canada faces a housing crisis, Ochoa believes it is up to developers and builders to “maximize space.” Parking garages and lots take up lots of space, and we have to shrink those footprints (or, are those tire tracks?).
“I want to maximize the building’s footprint,” says Ochoa. “I don’t want to use too much space for a garage. I just want to provide a little bit of space for a garage for my tenants, but I understand that there’s other ways of transportation. I’m not a typical builder or developer who just builds so that there’s a bunch of parking. Especially now, with the affordability crisis, the need for housing, why not use that space to create more units?”
He says a six-unit development could have storage for nine bicycles. Riders could walk out their front doors, and off they go on the bike lane. To Ochoa, this is the future.
He’s putting his money where his mouth is, by actually building the rental townhomes. And he has a hard time understanding why so many Edmontonians’ turn red in anger over bicycle infrastructure.
“It’s an easy target and becomes a topic of conversation, which it shouldn’t be. Bike lanes are great… Bike lanes often bolster a sense of community amongst residents. When people are out biking, they’re more likely to bump into neighbours, chat and connect. The social aspect makes our developments feel more like home.”
Bike lanes can enhance the attractiveness of an area for potential residents. They provide amenities for active transportation, which is increasingly popular among urban dwellers. This increased demand for housing in the vicinity of bike lanes can drive up property values, allowing developers to lease faster and get better return.
Incorporating bike lanes into urban planning can differentiate a development project from others in the area. It can appeal to a specific demographic of residents who prioritize sustainable and healthy transportation options. This unique selling point can help us attract tenants and outperform competitors.
Bike lanes often foster a sense of community among residents. When people are out biking, they’re more likely to bump into neighbours, chat and connect. That kind of social atmosphere can make our developments feel more like home, boosting tenant satisfaction and even leading to word-of-mouth referrals. It’s like built-in marketing, courtesy of those bike lanes.
Bike lanes often connect residential areas to commercial districts, parks and other amenities. We can leverage this connectivity to market properties as being conveniently located near shops, restaurants and recreational areas accessible by bike. Such access to amenities adds value to the housing development, making it more desirable to potential residents.
Investing in bike lanes aligns with broader trends toward sustainable urban development. As cities increasingly prioritize initiatives to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote active transportation, developments located near bike lanes may be better positioned to withstand future regulatory changes and market shifts.
This article appears in the Jul/Aug 2024 issue of Edify
