East Edmonton residents protest proposed bike lanes

A group of Edmontonians in south Edmonton is protesting against bike lanes scheduled to come to their community later this month.

Residents in an east Edmonton neighbourhood are protesting proposed bike lanes in the area that they say will remove street parking and access to the front of their homes.

They also say they weren’t properly consulted, having received notice of the bike lanes just two weeks ago with construction starting this month.

“People are living in residential communities that are well established, and to ignore the needs of the community, that just doesn’t fly,” said resident Shauna Dowson.

Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvadore has developed an alternate plan for the lanes after hearing complaints that would see access to parking and protected bike lanes by cutting into space reserved for the boulevard.

“Fiftieth Street is a unique circumstance where it’s not a tighter, constrained roadway where we have to make some of those tough tradeoffs, in this case, we do have an opportunity to accommodate everyone,” said Salvadore. “I think we should be thinking seriously about how we can advance that design.”

The councillor added that consultation took place in 2024, but that plans can still change.

City council will debate Salvadore’s plan Tuesday.

Salvadore says the plan may be more expensive and has asked city administration to provide a report on costs.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg