Birch Street In Campbell River Being Upgraded To Neighbourhood Bikeway

The City of Campbell River is upgrading Birch Street into a neighbourhood bikeway to improve road safety while also establishing a north-south connector route from downtown to near the north end of the Dogwood multi-use pathway.

New traffic safety measures, including signage and pavement markings, have been implemented as part of Phase 1 of this project.

The speed limit has been lowered to 30 kph for its entire length (from 9th Avenue to Robron Road, including Albatross Crescent between Birch Street and Christopher Road, and Christopher Road between Albatross Crescent and Robron Road).

Also, pavement markings called “sharrows” have been added to indicate that use of the road is shared with bicycles. Nearby playgrounds and school zones, which previously had posted speed limits of 30 kph at certain times, now have that speed limit all day, every day.

This applies to the playground zones on Merecroft Road, Pinecrest Road and next to Centennial Park; it also applies to the school zone on Birch Street, by Pinecrest Elementary School.

Phase 2, which will begin later this month and carry through into 2024, will focus on introducing traffic-calming measures to further encourage drivers to slow down.

The first step in Phase 2 will include consultation with residents.

An online survey is available at Get Involved Campbell River, where you can share your feedback until December 21.

The project was approved by Council in 2022, as part of the 2023 budget. Further upgrades to Campbell River’s transportation network will be discussed as part of the Master Transportation Plan process.

The Birch Street neighbourhood bikeway will connect key destinations between downtown and the north end of the Dogwood multi-use pathway, including Robron Centre, Robron Park, Pinecrest Elementary School, the hospital, Centennial Park, École Phoenix Middle School.

Classified as a local street, Birch Street is ideal for a neighbourhood bikeway, which will reduce the volume of cyclists on major arterial roads like Alder Street and Dogwood Street.