Canada Drive Active Transportation & Road Safety Improvements

City staff have completed their evaluation of the two facility types proposed and a recommendation to design and construct a shared-use path on the south side of Canada Drive was brought forward and approved at Committee of the Whole Dec. 14, 2022. A summary of the note follows. To read the full note with recommendations or to watch the video, please visit the City’s website.

Active Transportation Facility Type Evaluation

The following is a summary of the rationale supporting staff’s recommendation for a shared use path on the south side of Canada Drive.

Safety Enhancements: A shared-use path with parking on both sides of the street provides greater flexibility to use curb extensions and add road safety enhancements including pedestrian crossing improvements.

Transit: A shared-use path with parking on both sides of the street provides greater flexibility in roadway space to improve transit stops. Bus stops can be placed on curb extensions, increasing comfort, safety, and transit efficiency.

Expected active transportation volumes: As a general guideline, a shared-use path is expected to be a comfortable facility for up to 100 users per hour. Given the measured active transportation volumes in other areas of the city and the context of the Canada Drive corridor, a shared-use path is expected to be an appropriate facility type for people of all ages and abilities long term.

Resident impact: A shared-use path is the preferred option of Canada Drive residents. This option would maintain parking on both sides of the street and reduce resident snow clearing, both of which were important to residents.

Inclusion and Accessibility: A shared-use path on the south side of the street is being recommended in consideration of accessibility. The additional right of way space to improve transit access and pedestrian crossings, the expected number of shared-use path users, and the winter maintenance considerations support this facility type recommendation.

Cost: Based on high-level preliminary estimates, a shared-use path would cost less than the bidirectional bike lane option.

Snow clearing: A shared-use path can be more efficiently maintained in the winter compared to separated bike and pedestrian facilities. This has impacts to active transportation users, city operations, Canada Drive residents, students going to school and people using transit. Having a snow-cleared facility that can be used by people walking, wheeling, running, and biking was noted as very important to all stakeholders.

Active Transportation Route Alignment Evaluation

Sightlines: Embankments on private property lawns present sightline issues along the north side of Canada Drive. There are relatively few sightline issues to address on the south side of the street.

Winter maintenance: The south side is currently ranked higher priority for sidewalk snow clearing. Given the topography of the street, an active transportation facility on the south side of the street is relatively easier for winter maintenance.

Transit: Four of the five bus stops within the project area are located on the south side of the street. Convenient integration of active modes and transit are best supported by an active transportation route on the south side of Canada Drive.

Review all the project details at EngageStJohns.ca.

The design of active transportation improvements is for Canada Drive, from Columbus Drive to Team Gushue Highway (civic address of 243 Canada Drive). It also includes a shared-use path extension along Columbus Drive from Captain Whelan Drive to Canada Drive. This route will eventually connect via the existing shared-use path along Columbus Drive to Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use-Path creating an east to west bike network.

The City of St. John’s is committed to building a balanced transportation network to get people and goods where they want to go safely. This project is identified in the City’s Strategic Plan under the goal to expand and maintain a safe and accessible active transportation network.

Today, the City of St. John’s released the summary of What We Heard (WWH) during public engagement for the Canada Drive Active Transportation and Road Safety Improvements project.

Public engagement took place between April 26 and May 31 during which time there were 793 visits to the project page by 688 people; 268 people actively engaged here. Twenty-three people attended the virtual engagement session and 19 people who live on Canada Drive attended an in-person meeting. Additionally, City staff met with administrators at two schools in the area to gather their input, received email submissions, and phone calls.

Summary of what we heard:

• There is no definitive agreement on which option is preferred. Those who live on the street mostly prefer a shared-use path (SUP). Citywide, there is a preference for the dedicated bike lanes.
• Sidewalk snow clearing is a major concern regarding the project. Among people living on Canada Drive, the extra width of SUP/sidewalk/bike lanes in front of their homes puts an additional strain on those clearing their driveways. Among people who want to use the new active transportation route, there are questions about its usefulness if it is not adequately maintained in the winter.
• Parking is reported as very important among the people who live on Canada Drive. This is an important factor in their preference for the SUP option.
• There are concerns about sightlines and sidewalk snow clearing priority on the north side of the street and some concerns about connectivity and safety throughout the street.
• Active transportation is important to the schools. Many students walk or bike to school. Most students live close enough to school that they do not qualify for busing.
• Most people are generally happy to hear about streetscape changes to improve active transportation. Some people suggest the City is not going far enough to implement safe and comfortable active transportation infrastructure; others suggest bike lanes are not needed and are not a good use of taxpayer money.

For more details on what we heard, read the full report.

WWH will be shared with City Council during the Wednesday, June 29 Committee of The Whole meeting. Meetings are broadcast live on the City’s website. Next steps will include bringing a recommendation for the design of Canada Drive at a future Council meeting for approval.