Dear Editor,
Re: “$300 million dyke plan forges ahead,” News, April 14, 2017.
I hope the City of Richmond never paves the West Dyke from Terra Nova to Steveston, as suggested by Coun. Alexa Loo. It is not a cycling commuter route, where cycle speeds of up to 40 km/h can easily be attained.
Paving the new Railway Greenway from Steveston Highway to No. 2 Road accomplished that — even though there was already a perfectly good commuter cycling route along Railway Avenue!
If leisure cyclists think the section from Terra Nova to Steveston is busy now with dogs and joggers/runners, walkers/hikers, (a lot of times six abreast or with phone buds in their ears and not paying attention to oncoming cyclists’ warning bells to “share the dyke”), I can just imagine what it would look like if paved.
Paving would allow much easier use for seniors with walkers, disabled with wheel-chairs, moms and dads with baby strollers and carriages, children on tricycles and bicycles with training wheels, roller bladers, skate boarders, leisure single or group cyclists, as well as single or pack group cyclists.
This easy availability of a smooth ride will result in a way higher risk of injuries to all parties using the trail, as speedy cyclists, and even skateboarders, and rollerbladers, try to manoeuvre through all these types of traffic. This foreseeable chaos will prevent an enjoyable outing by anyone.
Also, environmentally speaking, in this very habitat-sensitive, riparean area, would Environment Canada or the provincial Ministry of Environment allow the addition of PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) onto the soil resulting in the probable pollution of the surface, ground water and receiving waters?
I would like to suggest that, since Richmond clearly has money to spend on upgrading cycling trails, it should be spent on making existing cycling trails safe.
In particular, the city should look at connecting the very hazardous Shell Road Trail (that leads to nowhere!).
A lot of money has just been spent to upgrade and repair the trail’s pavement from Westminster Highway to Alderbridge Way, yet a cyclist or jogger/runner cannot connect to the Bridgeport Trail, the north dyke or Canada Line bridge. Please complete this section of the trail from where it abruptly ends, just north of Alderbridge under the freeway.
This trail could be a gorgeous leisure loop trail or commuter route connecting the mentioned trails, but because there’s a gap in this section, the cycle loop starting from the west area of Richmond is broken and a cyclist is forced to venture onto a very narrow, busy and dangerous section of Shell Road all the way to Bridgeport hoping the traffic will not side swipe you!
I sure hope Ms. Loo and the rest of the city councillors, as well as Mr. John Irving, City of Richmond’s chief engineer, reconsider the idea of paving the West Dyke. To conclude, since you are all for safe cycling in Richmond, please spend the money on upgrading existing paths.
Mary Gurney
Richmond
