City bike lanes may become a little busier

The lanes will become more crowded if there’s an affirmative answer from three potential upcoming votes. The separate motions—two at city hall, the other at the CRD—each relate to allowing more modes of transportation on the city’s bike lanes, which would mix faster-moving e-scooters with more measured mobility scooters and micro-mobility devices, in addition to bicycles.

Tomorrow, Victoria’s city council is expected to vote on a staff proposal to join a provincewide pilot project to determine the benefits and effects of allowing e-scooters on bike lanes. Next Thursday, the CRD will decide whether it should request the province consider allowing mobility scooters and micro-mobility devices—something the city council also will debate on March 14.

“It’s a human rights issue frankly, for folks in mobility scooters who have accessibility challenges,” Coun. Jeremy Caradonna tells Capital Daily.

“They should be able to access our all-ages and abilities cycling facilities,” he said. “There's really no reason why they should not be able to.” Caradonna calls the current situation on our streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes something out of the “Wild West” with no standards, signage or even ticketing. “And that does create the potential for dangers and for accidents and collisions. So you know, at the end of the day, we want safety.”

As Mark Brennae tells us here, the lanes may not be wide enough to safely accommodate the additional traffic and could set in motion changes to the design of some of the city’s bike-lane network.

Read the full story at Capital Daily.

Three Langford councillors are worried about the potential negative impacts of Bill 46, the Housing Statutes (Development Financing Amendment Act), in a commentary published in the Times Colonist. 

Couns. Kimberley Guiry, Colby Harder, and Keith Yacucha caution against relying excessively on development to bolster Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) and General Amenity Contributions (GACs) instead of raising property taxes. Bill 46 tightens regulations on the collection and allocation of these development funds, limiting the fiscal flexibility of municipal decision-makers.

The legislation expands the scope of allowable expenditures for development cost charges while removing the ability to allocate funds for affordable housing through CACs. It shifts the determination of amenity charges from negotiated agreements to a standardized approach outlined in the bill, raising concerns about equitable distribution of benefits and fiscal sustainability. 

The councillors say the legislation could strain municipal budgets and compromise service delivery as the city faces rapid growth and eventual development saturation. They’re also concerned about the long-term consequences of using development funds to subsidize operational costs, highlighting the risk of financial instability should development opportunities slow down. 

Read Sidney Coles’ full story here. 

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