Not everyone is happy about the new cycling lanes which will be constructed along 276 Street and 32 Avenue this summer.
While the 32nd Avenue Cycling Connector project will be a boon to cyclists along the residential streets, it will also mean the permanent loss of street parking on one side of the streets.
A letter to residents from Langley Township about the project — which is a TransLink initiative that has been in the works for a couple of years — says the work will begin in July and that parking will be removed on the north side of 32 Avenue and the west side of 276 Street.
During the construction work there may be single-lane traffic control between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., although access to all properties will be maintained during the work, says Township transportation technologist Tammy Liu in the letter to residents.
Parking will still be allowed on the other side of the two streets, where marked as permitted, and the cycling lane on that side will be between the parked cars and the traffic lane. The cycling lane on the other side will be marked alongside the pedestrian sidewalk.
Residents along 32 Avenue feel they have been “blindsided” by the project and have initiated a petition opposing the project.
“We had no advance warning that our street parking would be permanently removed,” said one of the residents, Debbie French.
“The first we knew about it was when they removed the centre line in 32 Avenue, then we got this letter (last week).
“If they’re going to do this they should spend the money on widening the road so that we keep our street parking.”