Photo: District of Summerland

Residents of Summerland want more bike lanes within the community, but the municipality will have to spend significant money to make that happen.

The District of Summerland has released its finalized cycling master plan, mapping out the community’s cycling network to be phased in over the next decade and beyond.

Public consultation found the top reasons for not using a bicycle to commute are a lack of bike lanes, the condition of the routes and gaps in the cycling network. Residents voiced an appetite for additional cycling infrastructure in the areas surrounding downtown, along Prairie Valley Road, Giants Head Road, Victoria Road, and South Lakeshore Drive.

The master plan appears to have taken that into account and recommends the municipality work to find funding for $720,000 worth of high-priority projects in those areas.

A further 41 kilometres of proposed bike lanes worth $8.4M are categorized as “longer-term.”

The master plan also recommends the district implement cycling infrastructure guidelines into the subdivision development process. It also requests more bike racks and bike storage options be considered downtown and other high-traffic areas.

The full master plan can be read here.