While we are pleased that Summerside has one Active Transportation Pathway, Greenwood Drive, we hope Greenwood Drive will serve as a learning experience for future AT projects in the City.
10 Lessons Learned: Greenwood Drive AT Pathway
- Minimal Width Not Met
The minimal width set out by the funding partner (Government of PEI through the PEI AT Fund) was not met in the area in front of the volleyball courts. The area in question was 69 inches wide -- two feet and three inches short of meeting the minimal width standards set out in the PEI AT Network Plan. The PEI AT Network Plan guidelines are 3.0m/9.8 ft (desired) and 2.4m/7.9ft (minimum). It was well below meeting minimum standards. This information was shared with City Staff by SAFE on October 5, 2022, prior to laying the asphalt on the AT Pathway. No changes were made to the width.
Desired Width of One-Way and Two-Way AT Pathways
Description of AT Pathway Width of AT Pathway one-lane (on each shoulder of the road) 5.9 ft/1.8 m (desired)
4.9 ft/1.5 m (minimum)two-lane (bi-directional) 9.8 ft/3.0 m (desired)
7.9 ft/2.4 (minimum)PEI AT Network Plan, pages 21 and 22 Here are the specifications of a two-lane AT Pathway as detailed in the draft PEI AT Network Plan:
When SAFE addressed this issue on March 23, 2023, at the City Council Meeting, the city widened the AT pathway as soon as Spring hit, beginning on May 10, 2023
- "L" Intersections
The path to connect the Greenwood Drive AT Pathway across Notre Dame Street and the Greenwood Drive connection to cross to Water Street utilize "L" Intersections and are not based on best practices in AT Design. In fact, instead of having two crossings to cross two streets (best practice), the current design doubles the number of times AT traffic crosses the street. Further, when AT users travel in groups, the risk is amplified. These “L” crossings leave groups of AT users “caught” in the middle of the intersection until the other direction clears. Ken Trenholm, who has bicycled with a group of 15 children daily every summer for the last 14 years, explained, “the children are in limbo in the middle of each street, just waiting for the next street for the traffic to stop so that we can get ourselves out alive.” At our Public Meeting on October 26, 2023, a mother who regularly bicycles with her family of seven in Summerside sensitively shared the challenges of navigating this corner and leaving her children in this indeterminate state of potential harm. One of her children requires adaptive bicycle technology, requiring more space than a typical bicycle. We know better, and we must do better
- Bidirectional & Contraflow Movement
Bidirectional is not intuitive and always creates an issue of contraflow traffic. For example, when a motor vehicle is approaching from Willow Ave and is turning right onto Greenwood Drive, often the driver of the motor vehicle will not look right to check for traffic because they don’t expect traffic to be approaching moving counter to the flow of motor vehicle traffic. So, the vehicle turns without looking (and seeing the AT user). SAFE Summerside has received reports of similar near collisions on Greenwood Drive since it was built based on contraflow movement.
We recommend Unidirectional AT Pathways as best practices and provide an Annotated Bibliography. We urge the City of Summerside to fully understand the inherent risks of contraflow traffic with the installation of Bidirectional AT Pathways. We hope the City of Summerside will consult on these issues, similar to how the City of Charlottetown asked the public whether the new Multi-Use Pathway on North River Road should be unidirectional or bidirectional. Public consultation is a supported process that SAFE engages in and encourages the City of Summerside to do so as well. This is the graphic of the public consultation: Please review pages 20 to 25 of our Response to the City for the process we followed in determining whether an AT Pathway should be unidirectional (one way on both sides) or bidirectional (two ways on one side). We also provide a video to best explain the impact of contraflow traffic on Bidirectional AT Pathways.
- Angle of Approach at Willow/Greenwood
The “angle” the AT Pathway transforms from the north side of Willow to the south side. Specifically, the 116o angle to connect contraflow traffic to the south side of Willow is, in effect, “pushing” AT traffic into the motor vehicles. So, this seemingly benign intersection connected to the new AT Pathway has already been the location of many close calls. (Please keep in mind this angle was not determined using IRL equipment but through a photo and app--thus, +/- angle differential should be expected.)
As a solution, SAFE recommended the following paint and signage on December 7, 2023 (there continues to be no paint and no two-way AT traffic signage installed at this intersection):
- The Flex Bollards Are Not Protection
The flexible bollards do not protect AT users. They are just "warnings" for the motoring public. Often, they get damaged or removed, creating gaps. We recommend adding concrete parking stops (similar to the concrete used in a parking lot to 'stop' a car) with the bollards to the City of Summerside on all AT Pathways. Below are images of Greenwood Drive:
- Installed Directly on Storm Drains
On September 15, 2022, we learned the City of Summerside started Phase Two of the Greenwood Drive bike lane project. The next day, we watched as five storm drains were installed directly "on top" of the AT pathway. After reaching out to the City for confirmation the storm drains would be part of the AT pathway, we wrote a letter to the City of Summerside (September 18), outlining our concerns. We also were interviewed by CBC in the morning and then attended the City Council Meeting on the evening of September 20 (with CBC reporting on the issue).
We issued a call for anyone interested in accessible and safe AT to come to City Hall. Why? We believe that installing storm drain gates directly on top of the Greenwood AT Pathway is in direct opposition to the core principles of accessibility and inclusion, detailed as the guiding principles of the PEI AT Network Plan (p. 11). These obstacles can pose serious risks to active transportation users, particularly people with disabilities, older adults, and young children just getting their balance.
Thanks to Dan Steele, who attended the City Council Meeting with SAFE Summerside spokesperson Ken Trenholm on September 20, 2022, to address this issue. Storm drains present an obstacle to some AT users (seniors, people with disabilities, baby strollers, rollerbladers, etc., and anything with skinny tires that could fall through and result in a crash). The key for us was Dan Steele, a cyclist who rides a recumbent bicycle and is living with Parkinson's - every time he travels over these obstacles, it drives pain right up and through his teeth and gums. We presented a creative alternative "around" the storm drains and met with City Staff on October 5, 2022. The City did not deviate from its plan.
Here is our Council presentation: Here is our CBC Radio Interview: - Storm Drains Installed Perpendicular
One of the storm drains was installed perpendicular to the flow of traffic in the Fall of 2022. Following our presentation to Council on March 20, 2023, outlining the concerns with perpendicular storm drain installations, the storm drain was changed to be parallel to the flow of AT traffic in the Spring of 2023.
- Other Roads a Priority
Other high-traffic streets with a record of traffic collisions would have been a better choice. Also, Greenwood sends people directly to Pope Road (a high-priority and dangerous street for on-street cycling). Pope Road should have been completed before Greenwood Drive. Greenwood Drive has no recorded accidents or collisions with motor vehicles. See our collision map for the locations of reported and known collisions in the city:
- Wrong Direction
When the direction arrows of AT traffic flow were first painted, the city had the directions wrong. The bidirectional should work the same as a road: south travelling on the west side and north travelling on the east side. It was vice versa. A member of the community brought the issue forward. It has since been changed. - Right of Way
The right of way is a concern. According to the PEI Highway Traffic Act, motor vehicles yield to pedestrians and cyclists who are crossing an intersection. As the right of way is laid out now, the traffic turning has the right of way. Ironically, if this were a street with no AT route, the AT user travelling with traffic would have the right of way. This, again, is not consistent with standards or even the PEI Highway Act.
In the first case (on the left), we see east and west-bound traffic on Notre Dame has the right-of-way, and the AT Traffic (as other Greenwood Drive traffic) is to stop/yield, check for vehicles and pedestrians, and proceed if it is safe. This is how we interrupt the correct use of right-of-way.
In the second case (on the right), we see the north and south-bound motor vehicle traffic on Greenwood Drive (from Notre Dame to Pope) has the right-of-way, but not AT traffic. Ironically, if there were no AT pathway, AT users would have the right-of-way and not be asked to stop and yield to traffic entering the street. This practice continues for the entire length from Notre Dame to Pope, with AT users having a stop line pained before all streets or parking lots. It is our recommendation the stop bars be removed and replaced with a painted green AT Pathway crossing lane to give AT users priority and the right-of-way.
Some Notes on Lane Width and Inclusion
We are reminded here of the importance of considering the varied users of AT pathways. Let's compare the width of a regular bicycle tire (2 inches) with that of a wheelchair (32 inches). We see the need for increased width to accommodate everyone, regardless of ability.
We provide two images of Dan Steele, a SAFE Summerside member who rides an e-pedal assist recumbent trike 32 inches wide on the Greenwood AT Pathway. In this first image, we see no room for error if Dan should meet another user on the pathway. In fact, the front tires of the recumbent trike (which are out of the photo shot) would be flush with the bicycle's cargo trailer. This means that when users of the trail meet each other, one will need to pull off into the grass or snowbank.
In this second image, we see the entire width of the front tires and the lack of space if meeting another user. It is important to note that a recumbent trike is the same width as a wheelchair, a person using a walker or a mobility scooter, and less than the width of a person riding a Trishaw.
Our expressed hope to the city is that it will follow the 3m/9.8 feet recommendation of the PEI AT Network Plan for bidirectional pathways and the 5.9 ft/1.8 m for unidirectional pathways as the desired (not minimum) widths provide accessibility for everyone.