That means by 2012, the focus will be to complete the remaining bits of street network available to cyclists in the city as recommended by a consultant who wrote a master plan for trails and bikeways.
"We are really developing our on-street network in the city. We get a lot of great support from council, the public and even the press on this," Charters said.
"I know some other cities in the province are getting tortured over what they're doing with bike lanes. We really appreciate the support we do get from everybody, especially the public. We get really good input from the public."
Still, he told the city's transportation committee Thursday there continues to be confusion in Fredericton about the different types of bicycle lanes the city is installing.
More public education is needed, he said.
The city will erect signs identifying streets as bicycle routes, but there won't be any pavement markings designating special lanes or prohibited parking areas.
Regent Street, which is a main artery from the south to north sides of the St. John River, is a signed-only bicycle route.
That means cyclists can use it but won't get any special treatment from a traffic standpoint.
Both drivers and cyclists have to share the road, and cyclists have to obey the rules of road, Charters said.
The city has two categories of bike lanes - designated and marked-only bicycle lanes.
A marked bicycle lane is one where a striped white border marks the width out from the curb area where a bicyclist may ride, but parking may still be permitted in those areas, so it's bicyclists beware as they use those.
The city has a third type of bicycle lane that it calls a reserved bicycle lane.
The signs for those lanes bear a diamond, which signifies no parking is permitted in those lanes.
"It's the 3-D: diamond, dedicated, don't park," Charters said of the rule of thumb on reserved bicycle lanes.
The rule citywide is to share the road with cyclists.
Transportation committee chairman Coun. Bruce Grandy said the public continues to be confused about how bicycle lanes work.
He suggested painting the no-parking signs on the ground in the bicycle lanes with the diamonds to avoid public confusion.
Traffic engineers in communities across the country follow International Transportation Association of Canada guidelines to have consistent signing countrywide, Charters said.
Coun. Steven Hicks said he's also had calls from people because the don't-park logo on the reserved bike lanes has arrows pointing outward each way, so some drivers are under the impression that there's no parking permitted at all on either side of the street.
When a bike lane is installed on a street, it may be that parking is removed from both sides or only from the side where the reserved bike lane is.
Check the signs, Charters said.
He said parking wouldn't be permitted in bicycle lanes in high-traffic areas or on truck routes.
The following is a list of where bicycle lanes will be installed this year and where parking is restricted:
* Brookside Drive. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Main Street to Route 105.
* Forest Hill Road. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Canterbury to Kimble drives.
* Irvine Street. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Nobel to Gibson streets.
* Kimble Drive. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Stoneybrook Crescent to Barrett Court.
* McEvoy Street. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Noble Street to MacLaren Avenue.
* MacLaren Avenue. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Cliffe to Gibson streets.
* Noble Street. Parking is restricted on the east side of the street from Gulliver Drive to Irvine Street.
* Royal Road. Parking is restricted on the east side of the street from Sunset Drive to the Royal Road School.
* Rookwood Avenue. Parking is restricted on the west side of the street from Saunders Street to Woodstock Road.
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1425731
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