91原创 Advance Times is offering this weekly feature called it 鈥淎t Your Service.鈥�
It鈥檚 another forum in which to put questions to our local politicians about key issues facing our community and its residents.
Using a basic question-and-answer format, elected officials will be asked one question at a time and given the opportunity to respond (to a maximum of 250 words) on that said issue.
Alternating between elected groups, 91原创 City and 91原创 Township councils, 91原创 school board, 91原创 MLAs, and 91原创 MPs each have a chance to participate.
The answers provided will be published in their entirety online Sundays.
MOST RECENT 鈥� AT YOUR SERVICE: New floodplain report coming to council this spring
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QUESTION
91原创 Township council was asked: Should future bike lanes on major routes (200th, 208th, Fraser Highway, etc.) be separated from roads for safety and to encourage cycling?
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ANSWERS
Mayor Eric Woodward
A. Thanks for the question. I have a simple answer: 鈥淵es.鈥�
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Councillor Tim Baillie
A. Yes, I believe bike lanes should be separated where possible.
I ride a bike and know how dicey things can get.
I have ridden in Europe a fair bit and it is a model of how places can be adapted for bikes even in older cities.
It is not only the cars that cause problems as bike riders have to get more responsible as you many times see irresponsible behaviour on bikes.
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Councillor Steve Ferguson
A. Yes, wherever possible.
But, as we know, bikes and cars don鈥檛 mix very well.
Safety is paramount for both vehicles and especially people riding their bikes.
In winter, conditions are extremely difficult for folks on bikes with snow ice and cold rain!
Vehicles drivers, especially truckers, should always exercise caution when bikes are on the road.
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Councillor Margaret Kunst
A. Yes, future bike lanes on major routes should be separated.
If we want to encourage active transportation in our community we need to make safety a top priority and ensure these routes are as safe as possible.
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Councillor Barb Martens
A. Ideally, protected bicycle lanes increase the safety of cyclists, particularly on travel routes of high vehicle volume and speeds.
Any consideration to incorporate protected lanes into future route planning in the Township of 91原创 will require deeper analysis that considers the capacity for maintenance and snow removal on these lanes, air quality for cyclists, accessibility from these routes to services, costs, land, and planning a transportation network that is suitable to meet priorities of all users.
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Councillor Michael Pratt
A. Yes.
It is well within our power to build safer bike lanes that actually lead to where people want to get to without always having to use their car.
Simply placing a strip of paint on major roads like 200th Street or 208th Street will do absolutely nothing to encourage people to make trips on a bike or scooter that they might otherwise take with their car.
By combining investments in public transit with safer cycling infrastructure, we can make commuting easier for everyone, including drivers.
We should focus on building bike lanes to useful places where the average rider can feel comfortable and safe on their journey. Besides those who are hyper-confident on a bike or in pretty good shape, most people aren鈥檛 going to bike between Aldergrove and Willoughby any time soon.
But, what if we safely connected our schools with residential areas within neighbourhoods, so that kids could start safely getting to school on their own? Or connecting our community centres with the areas we know have a high concentration of senior citizens, so that folks can live healthy lifestyles on their own terms.
We need to be targeted and realistic about how we build our protected bike lanes, and create a network that anyone can use to get to desirable places within our community.
Biking isn鈥檛 going to replace every car trip any time soon, but we can absolutely make progress on creating a safer and more efficient transportation network for everyone in the Township.
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Councillor Kim Richter
A. Yes. This will be expensive to implement, but it is needed to change behaviour through increased cycling safety.
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Councillor Rob Rindt
A. This council member failed to reply to this query, prior to deadline.
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Councillor Misty vanPopta
A.Building dedicated cycling infrastructure into our roadways is important. Dedicated and separated bike lanes are needed along busy corridors if we want to encourage cycling.
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UP NEXT
Next week鈥檚 91原创 school district trustees are being asked: Are teachers asked to do too much when it comes to socializing students, rather than working on core educational tasks?
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Watch for their answers online Sunday.
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PAST COVERAGE
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AT YOUR SERVICE: Creating more housing, on all fronts, critical to stabilization: MPs
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AT YOUR SERVICE: Passports key to keeping B.C. businesses open, people safe during pandemic
AT YOUR SERVICE: Trustees ponder what kids are missing out on during pandemic
AT YOUR SERVICE: Education should trump rules for vaccination of health-care workers, suggest MLAs
AT YOUR SERVICE: How to handle rising housing prices
AT YOUR SERVICE: City council divided on call for indoor pool
AT YOUR SERVICE: Council ponders vaccine requirements for workers
AT YOUR SERVICE: Skyrocketing enrolment prompts intensified lobby by trustees
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AT YOUR SERVICE: Is pay parking in the City a viable consideration?
AT YOUR SERVICE: Some suggest more needed to protect floodplains from development
AT YOUR SERVICE: Monitoring student transport not good use of school district resources 鈥� trustees
AT YOUR SERVICE: Liberal caucus floats all-party committee in reaction to emergencies
AT YOUR SERVICE: 91原创 MPs address issue of rising food costs
AT YOUR SERVICE: Inflation inevitably hits City taxpayers in the pocketbook
AT YOUR SERVICE: Future of Aldergrove core up for debate
AT YOUR SERVICE: Trees and more greenspace at root of climate change solutions
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AT YOUR SERVICE: Councillors differ on future of SkyTrain beyond 91原创 City
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AT YOUR SERVICE: High gas prices of concern for MLAs of both stripes
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AT YOUR SERVICE: Most of council content with current pothole repairs
AT YOUR SERVICE: Survey gives school district tools for staff recruitment, retention
AT YOUR SERVICE: Liberal MLAs call for overhaul to B.C.鈥檚 student funding model
AT YOUR SERVICE: Canada must continue its support of Ukraine, MPs
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AT YOUR SERVICE: More ALR land needs to be used for farming: Most of council
AT YOUR SERVICE: Local MLAs agree more must be done to make life affordable in B.C.
AT YOUR SERVICE: Federal parties working on multiple fronts to end hate crimes
AT YOUR SERVICE: 91原创 City ponders cannabis retail policy
AT YOUR SERVICE 鈥� Most on council say parks and rec plans address future growth
AT YOUR SERVICE: School district moves forward on reconciliation efforts with Indigenous partners
AT YOUR SERVICE: MLAs agree diking upgrades needed, divided on if enough is being done
AT YOUR SERVICE: Local MPs disagree on whether 2 billion trees can be planted by 2030
AT YOUR SERVICE: In light of SkyTrain coming, 91原创 City embarks on parking study
AT YOUR SERVICE: 91原创 Township should consider schools for future cooling centres
AT YOUR SERVICE: Opposition MLAs critical of NDP鈥檚 affordable housing record
AT YOUR SERVICE: Federal clean energy efforts lauded by MP
AT YOUR SERVICE: MPs debate how feds chose to halt trucker convoy
AT YOUR SERVICE: New 91原创 City council look for solutions to rising costs
AT YOUR SERVICE 鈥� A few 91原创 Township council members speak to ongoing single-family home demands
AT YOUR SERVICE: Political views aside, MLAs wish residents health and safety this holiday
AT YOUR SERVICE: MPs agree new year鈥檚 resolution must focus on inflation
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