Phil Melnychuk
Tsawwassen’s town centre is going to grow, somehow, at some point, so to make sure time and money isn’t wasted, a local cycling group wants to ensure room is left on both sides of 56th Street for multi-use pathways that will allow seniors, school kids and everyone else to move around without depending on a car.
“HUB would love to see, in general, good cycling infrastructure on 56th Street and with all the development that looks like it’s coming, initially with the town centre mall development, and then further development likely down the road, we think it’s crucial that 56th Street be looked at for potential … for cycling lanes,” said Neil Pope, co-chair with the Delta committee of HUB Cycling.
“Without that, we’re going to put more cars on the road because of increased development that is coming in a big way.”
Century Group plans to apply to the City of Delta early in 2024 to redevelop Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall on 56th Street with plans to add several buildings and up to 1,250 residential units.
Pope said HUB would like to see a multi-use pathway on both sides of 56th Street from Eighth Avenue, all the way to Hwy. 17. He noted extending bike lanes from Sixth to Eighth avenue are currently in the City of Delta’s plans.
Pope said the group wants a comprehensive look at 56th Street from an active transportation standpoint. The group has advocated for that in the past but, “we’re going to be particularly advocating for this now,” will be talking to the city in the future.
“Because further development is coming … there will be other development along 56th Street. If we just build it in patches, it’s not going to work. Everything must be connected, and we need to start thinking about this now because it’s coming,” said Pope. “It’s time to look at 56th Street in general, from a planning standpoint because this won’t be the last of developments along there.”
He said such pathways should get huge usage for a variety of non-auto users as the population grows.
“Now, you can have those e-everythings, bikes, and we can safely co-exist with the cars,” he said.
Currently, there is very little cycling infrastructure along 56th Street, he added.
He pointed out that without such lanes, a growing population could put more non-pedestrians, such as e-scooter users, onto sidewalks.
In general, HUB’s contacts within the development industry also seem interested, he said.
HUB is a cycling advocacy group with branches around Metro Vancouver.
“It’s feasible. I know there’s enough room on the road to put cycling lanes in. It’s just a question of cost and redesigning the road a bit,” Pope said.
Coun. Rod Binder, vice chair of council’s transportation advisory committee, said staff are already working on the issue. He expects a report on bike lanes along 56th Street, from Tsawwassen town centre to Eighth Avenue as the priority, and then possibly to Hwy. 17, some time in the new year.
“From a timing standpoint, I think it’s important to integrate … at the same time as development comes along,” Binder said.
