The city of Calgary will be removing most of the lane closures that were put in place to accommodate physical distancing on Tuesday — but residents of Ramsay and the councillor representing the southeast community are vowing to fight to keep at least one of the lanes open.
“I am sad but I understand,” said Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra on Sunday about the removal of the lane closures.
“It was wildly successful and it became part of an international trend that I am very happy we were on the cutting edge of.”
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Calgary’s physical distancing-focused lane closures end Oct. 13
Ten of the lanes are on the chopping block to allow the city to prepare for snow removal. But the one that isn’t on the list yet won’t be going down without a fight.
It’s located on 11 and 12 streets S.E. running from the zoo bridge south to 21 Avenue.
“There are only a couple, I think, where you have to put your foot down and say, ‘No, we are not giving this one up,’” Carra said, referring to the multi-use path that connects Inglewood to Ramsay.
“It is a short stretch, and people are fairly socialized that it is happening. I feel that this is one that absolutely has to stay open, and we are having that conversation right now with administration.”
‘Really feeling the pinch’
Recent closures have left the community of Ramsay with limited access for people on foot or on bikes to Inglewood and the Bow River.
“We are totally an island right now,” said Erin Joslin, vice-president external of the Ramsay Community Association.
“That has been my message continuously to city transportation. Every time they close another exit, be it pedestrian or be it for vehicles, we are getting blocked more and more, and we are really feeling the pinch. This is our only current connection, which for an inner-city walkable community to only have one connection to an adjacent community is a little bit silly.”
Joslin calls the adaptive lane in her neighbourhood “highly used” by all forms of active transportation.
“It keeps bikes off a small skinny sidewalk and then for strollers as well, so moms and dads have taken advantage of it to get to and from Inglewood,” Joslin said.
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Residents have said safety has been a concern along the stretch of 11 and 12 streets with cyclists and pedestrians only being separated by pylons.
“Because it’s a temporary laneway, we also run into problems with vehicles that don’t respect the pylons, but it’s one of those things where the community will take the little bit of unsafeness for the ability to have what this path brings,” Joslin said.
Carra predicts there will be a permanent fix for the area at some point down the road.
“I guarantee you there will be a very permanent solution rolling out for that corridor,” Carra said.
Next spring, city administration will go over the usage data from the adaptive lanes to determine if they will be brought back again next year.