Saskatoon council orders bike lane, bike box at intersection where cyclist was killed in 2023 | CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2024 9:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 25

Tod Fox made another impassioned call Wednesday for Saskatoon city council to develop bike infrastructure around the intersection where his wife, Natasha, was killed while cycling last year.

"Think about the return on that investment. Better than anything money can buy — one life saved. Natasha's life saved," he told councillors at their Wednesday meeting.

Against city administration's advice, council ended up voting in favour of changes that include developing a painted bike lane and accompanying bike box — a cyclist-only painted area that gives cyclists a visible space to wait at an intersection — at the northernmost end of Wiggins Avenue, where it butts up against College Drive.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer was the only councillor to vote against the motion.

Council set aside $60,000 to fund the changes. The final design of the changes is unclear, but could widen one lane of traffic at the expense of the other. 

The bike lane is expected to run along the eastern edge of Wiggins Avenue to the bike box.

The College Drive and Wiggins Avenue intersection is where Natasha Fox, 33, was struck and killed by a cement truck on May 24, 2023. Following a months-long police investigation, the truck driver was not charged in Natasha's death.

WATCH | Tod Fox speaks to Saskatoon city councillors ahead of vote:

Tod Fox wants Saskatoon to spend 'a dime' per resident to fix intersection where wife was killed

"Whether you like it or not, this is your top priority," Fox said at Wednesday's meeting.

"Not because I say so, not because Natasha was killed at this intersection — because it's one of the most important intersections in our city."

Cycling changes follow nearly a year after cycling death

About a month after the fatal collision, city council put aside $30,000 to commission a road safety audit from CIMA+, an engineering consulting firm, of the intersection. 

It produced an 82-page report that laid out recommendations for what it referred to as the most-biked intersection in Saskatoon. It also said the intersection has a history of harmful crashes.

Earlier in April, council's transportation committee considered a report from city administration that supported most of the 14 recommendations it drew from the CIMA+ report, but not three of the cycling-specific changes to infrastructure — drawing criticism from cyclists and others.

Most of the recommendations suggested by administration are either in progress, completed or a part of the city's bus rapid transit project.

Saskatoon's director of transportation, Jay Magus, was steadfast at Wednesday's council meeting that adding a painted bike lane and bike box would create a perceived level of safety that may be false, because it is not a protected bike lane.

"Quite frankly, just putting a bike box in a painted line will not improve safety. It will lower the level of safety," he said.

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Magus argued there was not enough space to fit both lanes of traffic and bicyclists on both sides. To do it safely, the city would need to widen the road and make protected bike lanes. 

That would take time. Cyclists who spoke at the meeting wanted immediate changes.

"I don't think there's any solution that we can come up with today that's going to be perfect, but I don't think we can make perfect be the enemy of the good in this situation," Ward. 6 Coun. Cynthia Block said at council, before voting in favour of the change.

Step toward modifying city vehicles

When he spoke to the city's transportation committee earlier in the month, Tod Fox also talked about changes to large trucks to improve visibility, an issue drawn from his wife's fatal collision.

On Wednesday, Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough moved a motion related to that.

The motion asks for city administration to report back to council on opportunities to support changes to commercial vehicle standards, and include opportunities for a pilot project to modify some city-owned vehicles to improve visibility and evaluate its effectiveness.

Council voted in favour of Gough's motion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dayne Patterson is a reporter for CBC News in Saskatchewan and is based in Saskatoon. He has a master's degree in journalism with an interest in data reporting and Indigenous affairs. Reach him at dayne.patterson@cbc.ca.

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