Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Road safety

Time to address highway safety for cyclists

I have had enough already with the lack of road lines on the Sea to Sky Highway in and around Whistler.

I have almost been hit and almost hit both cyclists and vehicles as visitors try and figure out where the heck they are supposed to be on a road with no lines in a place they don't know.

But perhaps a little more delay in the re-painting could work in our favour.

Let me explain.

There is no doubt that Whistler's bike park is the best in the world.

And the amazing system of trails, from beginner to expert, which wind their way through our mountains and valleys on the North Shore, in Squamish, Whistler and around Pemberton are nothing less than spectacular.

But there is a growing segment of the bike market that Whistler needs to capture now if it is to continue to grow tourism in this sector: road warriors.

The incredible success of the GranFondo last year has opened doors and eyes to this market in a way that no other event seems to have been able to do.

In the lead up to the ride the Sea to Sky Highway felt more like the Tour de France route than a road designed to carry vehicles.

For the most part everyone obeyed the rules and safety was maintained but I had a few hair-raising scares as I came across pelotons pedalling in the twilight at Porteau Cove - this was back when I was commuting almost daily to Vancouver for work.

Even more caution has to be taken when heading up to Pemberton as the highway shoulders, if there are any, are far less forgiving than the edges of the upgraded Sea to Sky highway.

With the future in mind Mayor Ken Melamed has sent a letter to the provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Blair Lekstrom, asking for action on the highway.

"This letter comes to you seeking assistance in enhancing the safety and improving the cycling experience on the provincially maintained roads north and south of Whistler to support dramatically increased bicycle traffic," it states.

"As you know, last year's GranFondo bike race was a huge success. The first of its kind in Canada, it provided a significant contribution to tourism for the region and British Columbia and the promotion of active lifestyles in B.C.

"In the lead up to the event last year we experienced a notable increase in the number of riders on our highways training for the event. This year the organizers will increase the race entrant numbers from 4,000 to more than 7,000. It is safe to assume that we can expect even higher numbers of riders on the roads this summer in the months and weeks leading up to the event, which takes place this year on September 10.

"Bicycling tourism is significant and has enormous growth potential of a favourable market demographic. Responding early to this new sporting/event trend will be a great boost to the tourism economy of B.C."

The RMOW is awaiting a response but, as it's clear that with highway painting and maintenance still to be done, what responsible provincial ministries should do is seize the bull by the horns and order the suggested improvements.

I think the province should act now.

Melamed suggests in the letter that the highway checklist should include paved, wider shoulders, bike lane logos painted on the shoulders, a bike lane stripe painted along the highway for demarcation and signage alerting drivers to be aware of the presence of cyclists.

"We are just trying to create that awareness that there are other transportation users on the highway," said Jan Jansen, the RMOW's general manager of resort experience when asked about the letter.

And, he said, it's hoped the letter will motivate various government ministries to address the issue to help tourism.

"...Hopefully they will see that emergence of cyclists as a tourism interest and that will influence their response," said Jansen.

A cycling and mountain biking product overview done by Tourism B.C. in 2009 shows that the majority of U.S. and Canadian cycling travellers had incomes over $60,000 and most stayed in their destination for about five days.

In Whistler the average expenditure per day was $93.48 per person.

Imagine if we could get more of those visitors here in the summer to cycle.

Tourism Whistler is expecting that when the GranFondo, which generated $3 million in net economic activity for B.C. last year, is held this fall most of the accommodation in the resort will be full as the event will also come with a celebration in the new Whistler Olympic Plaza.

There are few statistics strictly on road biking visitation and economic impact but Tourism B.C. reports that the 2003 Road World Cycling Championships held in Hamilton, Ontario generated as estimated $48.3 million in economic activity for the province. The Championships involved over 900 participants and drew another 23,800 visitors to the region for the spectacle.

We already know that Sea to Sky mountain biking trails that run through the North Shore (18,660 estimated riders), Squamish (8,910 estimated riders), and Whistler (25,695 estimated riders) brought nearly $10.3 million in non-resident spending between June 1 and September 15, 2006.

And we know that the Whistler Bike Park is the most visited bike park in North America and accounts for approximately three-quarters of B.C.'s bike park visits. During summer of 2006 non-resident visitors to the Bike Park spent an estimated $16.2 million in Whistler.

Maybe it's time to embrace the smooth side of cycling more fully and make our line on the road a "Welcome to Whistler" sign.