A downtown Winnipeg street is set to get a facelift.
The proposed new look calls for a two-way bike lane to be created on Garry Street.
Some on-street parking would be eliminated to accommodate the design.
Here's how the design would change under a new plan being recommended by the city:
Instead of painted lines on the west side of Garry, there would be a protected, two-way track on the east side of the road.
The new look would be similar to the bikeway on Assiniboine Avenue.
Cyclist Cain Kiddell Lambert wants to see infrastructure improvements to make the roads he rides on, safer.
"Because there's not assigned bike lanes when you're dealing with potholes and avoiding the traffic it sort of becomes a little dangerous," said Kiddell Lambert. "What we can do now, anything will help realistically.”
“The city wasn't built for bikers but it's slowly getting there."
Using the proposed design, on-street parking on the east side of Garry Street would be eliminated.
The city said 16 per cent of the on-street parking on Garry would be converted to accommodate the new bike lane.
Alison McAulay bikes and drives. She likes the new design even though it may be harder to find a parking spot downtown.
"Parking's always an issue downtown,” said McAulay. “Sixteen per cent isn't a big deal, I find it's not that much. There's still parking everywhere else."
Cyclists are eager to see more lanes downtown but the head of Bike Winnipeg said this design misses the mark.
The group’s executive director, Mark Cohoe, would prefer single lanes on one-way streets.
"With this one we're really not seeing the width we'd like to see there,” said Cohoe. “I think two, one-ways (one on Fort St., the other on Garry St.) with enough space that two bikes can ride side-by-side, they can pass each other, would've allowed us to have the space with the bikes.”
On its website, the city said the design it chose better accommodates traffic , emergency vehicles and transit.
Construction is expected to start in 2017.
The city will show off the proposed design to the public on Thursday evening.
You can drop by The Forks south atrium between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to have a look for yourself.
For more details, head to the City of Winnipeg’s website.