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The City's updated plan for the reconstruction of Jasper Avenue from 109 Street to 124 Street was presented to the public at a drop-in information session on Saturday before the scheme heads to Council in the spring. The preferred vision presents a number of changes from the draft design presented in November 2016, and a significant change from the current configuration of the corridor, which has three lanes in each direction, with the outside lanes being used exclusively for buses during peak hours and parking during off-peak hours.
The Imagine Jasper exercise would narrow traffic lanes and convert the bus-only lanes into 24-hour parking and flex spaces. Buses would be accommodated in the regular traffic lanes, sidewalks would be expanded to a width of three metres, and any lost parking would be reconciled by additional angled parking on side streets.
One of the biggest changes from the previous design is the addition of landscaped medians from 117 Street to 121 Street, meant to beautify and lend a community atmosphere to the avenue. And while the plan still doesn't include bike lanes – the City says they can't accommodate "any bicycle facility along Jasper" – the plan has made some room for bicycle parking and connections to existing routes on intersecting streets.
There will also be segregated space for cyclists at the 110 Street crossing; the previous plan called for a shared space between cyclists and pedestrians. A signalized crossing proposed on 124 Street has been shifted to the north side of Jasper Avenue to "improve safety and pedestrian connectivity." There will be full signals at every intersection with pedestrian crossings on all sides, though the plan still allows left-turn lanes at several median-less junctions.
While public feedback so far has not surprisingly varied, with opposing voices lamenting the lack of cycling infrastructure or purported congestion-inducing roadway narrowing, the discourse on our Forum has taken a more urban-minded perspective. Forum contributor archited has numerous ideas to help liven the street, including reducing the road space to three changeable lanes, eliminating all left-turn lanes, raising pedestrian crosswalks to calm traffic, and creating two-way protected bicycle lanes.
A design demonstration of the preferred configuration will be temporarily installed this summer from 109 to 114 Streets. The results from the trial, combined with additional public feedback, will help refine the preliminary design. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and take about three years to complete.
Until then, you can get involved in the discussion and share your ideas by visiting the designated Forum thread.
