Edmonton councillors to discuss dialing back on rapid bike lane expansion

Madeleine Cummings · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 25, 2026 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 25

A proposal to backpedal on bike lanes in Edmonton is getting mixed reaction from residents and city councillors.

City council approved a $100-million plan in December 2022 to build out an active transportation network within four years. About 35 kilometres of lanes were built in 2024 and 2025 and 24 kilometres are expected to be done this year, with more coming next year. 

In a report coming to Edmonton city council’s infrastructure meeting on Wednesday, city administrators recommend proceeding with building 13 more routes but removing 14 that were supposed to be built in the next two years.

The report says city administration is recommending a “modified approach” because the provincial government has signalled that changes to the Traffic Safety Act could affect current and planned bike lanes and because residents have increasingly been complaining about them.

While some residents say they would be happy to see some lanes cancelled, cycling advocates and two city councillors who voted to expand Edmonton’s active transportation network say the expansion should continue as planned.

“Admin’s proposal is really frustrating because as cyclists we advocated to get the active transportation network plan, we advocated to get it funded and now it feels like we have to fight block by block, street by street to actually see it put in place,” said Alison McIntosh, an organizer with the group Ward Métis Bikes.

• Edmontonians who oppose bike lanes cross paths with advocates in fiery standoff

Most of the 14 lanes floated for cancellation are in southeast Edmonton neighbourhoods in Ward Métis. 

The list includes a two-way bike lane planned for 79th Street, which would run north and south from 76th Avenue to 101st Avenue. If the bike lane is built, sections of the street would no longer include parking spots.

McIntosh, who chooses not to drive a car, said she bought her house in Forest Heights knowing that the 79th Street lane would be built. She said she and her parents, who live in Idylwilde, could cycle to and from each other’s homes using the lane.

“Now we’re in a really frustrating place with not being sure if that’s going to go forward,” she said.

The proposal from administration suggests prioritizing bike routes that don’t affect vehicle lanes or parking, and that “contribute meaningfully to the broader active transportation network.”

One of the planned bike routes city administrators are recommending not be built in the next two years is along 95th Avenue, from 142nd Street to 163rd Street. 

Veteran bike commuter Eddie Carle told CBC News he was riding on 95th Avenue and turning left onto 148th Street on July 31 when a vehicle driver clipped him and fled the scene. Carle hit the asphalt and was left with a bloody face, fractured wrist and sprained thumb.

Carle said he could only speculate whether a bike lane on the road at the time would have helped prevent the crash.

“Maybe the lane on its own wouldn't, but the feedback effects of having a lane and increased usage and increased amounts of cyclists on the road tends to make everybody safer,” he said.

Opposition growing

Michelle Naylor, who lives in Holyrood, told CBC News she supports administration’s proposal because pausing the 79th Street lane would give the city more time to consider residents’ concerns about safety, traffic flow and parking. 

“This feels like it’s not been transparent and it’s not been based on the current reality of this neighbourhood,” she said. 

Administration’s report said while public engagement was done for two years on the Bike Plan —  a strategic document that explains how to expand the biking network — it did not get into specifics over lane location. 

Negative public feedback has been increasing since 2023, according to the report, with more than 1,000 email and phone inquiries sent to the city.

Idylwilde resident Lori Harrison said the removal of parking spots from the street is one of her main concerns.

“I’m a senior and I have a single-car garage in the back and that only fits one car so if I don’t have front-street parking, it’s very hard for my friends and family to come and visit me,” she said.

Both Naylor and Harrison said they don’t oppose bike lanes in general but they do see problems with the plan for 79th Street.

Councillors defend network

Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador, who sits on the infrastructure committee, called the modified approach concerning and said she plans to put forward an alternative motion that would have the city continue as planned. 

“We’re seeing year over year, more and more folks are walking, biking, rolling and in need of this safe infrastructure,” she said in an interview with CBC News. 

Salvador said in older neighbourhoods with narrow streets, there are tradeoffs that come with building bike lanes, and sometimes that means removing parking.

Ward papastew Coun. and infrastructure committee member Michael Janz also wants to see the lanes built as planned.

Coun. Janz said for years his ward has had the highest concentration of bike lanes in the city and that once they are built, they are well-used and well-liked.

“I’ve heard from so many residents who opposed the bike lanes at the beginning but once they go in, they enjoy having a quieter street, they enjoy having less traffic, they park in their own garage or on their own property and they figure it out,” he said.

Janz said councillors haven’t seen drafts of the province’s bike lane legislation and questioned why the city would make changes before knowing what it contains.

Councillors on the infrastructure committee could decide to support administration’s proposal at their meeting on Wednesday, but city council would have the final say.