One thing cyclists will have on the new bridge is options.
On the roadway, there’ll be bicycle lanes going eastbound and westbound adjacent to the motor vehicle lanes. Plus, the bridge’s north side has a multi-purpose path for both pedestrians and cyclists. Here are some of the decisions cyclists face:
Eastbound into downtown
• Galloping Goose traffic will proceed south on Harbour Road as usual, then there’s a new choice. They can ride to the Esquimalt Road light as usual then left onto the bridge approach. Many expect regular commuters and people bent on saving time to do that. They’ll have a new 1.8-metre-wide bike lane on the roadway. Most bike traffic then heads south on Wharf. The rest will continue up Johnson, or jog left to the Pandora bike lane.
• The new option on Harbour Road is to use the little bike left turn lane just before Esquimalt Road. It takes the rider up a ramp and down to the five-metre-wide multi-use path on the north side of the bridge. Ride through Janion Plaza and turn right to head south, or straight on the Pandora bike lane.
Cautious riders might prefer that path. The novelty will also be an attraction. It will be a busy path, as the pedestrian-only path on the south side of the new bridge won’t be open for several more months, until the old bridge is dismantled.
• Eastbound E&N Trail traffic will proceed to the end of the trail, then turn left on the overpass, and down on to the multi-use path, joining the Goose traffic. There’s an option to jog down before the overpass to the Ocean Pointe Hotel access road, then join the roadway, but it’s a bit awkward.
Westbound
• Cyclists leaving town on Pandora will cross Wharf to either the multi-use path or the roadway. Riders leaving downtown on Wharf Street will have to decide what they’re doing in the bike box at Johnson Street. If they commit to making the left turn, they’ll ride the bridge deck bike lane. If they want to use the multi-use path, they ride to Pandora, wait for the light and turn left to Janion Plaza and then the multi-use path.
Random notes
• It’s still an active construction site and will be for several months. Cyclists can ride on the multi-use path, but it is expected to be busy, so speeds should be reduced.
• Cyclists will eventually have easy access to two new sloped plazas with big potential on the old approaches on either side. But it will take a while to build them.
• When the pedestrian-only path on the south side of the bridge opens, once the old bridge is dismantled, it will cross under the bridge to the Janion Plaza and eventually be part of an extended walkway as far as the Selkirk Trestle.
• The multi-use path is aluminum grid. The roadway is a type of asphalt, so it will likely be much quieter.
