City installs cycling infrastructure on the Performing Arts Parkway to increase safety for road users – City of Mississauga

Following the success of the Tactical Urban Planning Pilot Project in 2019, the City is permanently installing bike lanes, new bike racks and public art on Living Arts Drive in downtown Mississauga. Protected on-road bike lanes have been installed to increase safety and comfort for all, with a design that is the first of its kind in Mississauga. New bike racks will also be installed this year, which will increase convenience and encourage more people to cycle by providing them with a place to lock them up downtown. In spring 2022, the cycle paths will be joined by vibrant road frescoes that will run alongside the cycle paths and parking lots. Commissioned by the City Public art program, the murals will be designed by professional artists and will help bring Living Arts Drive to life as part of the Cultural Districts Implementation Plan for the city center. These new features reflect the way the City is rethinking the layout and design of streets using lessons learned from temporary facilities to create pleasant and safe spaces for all road users.

The new bike path design includes wide bike lanes between the sidewalk and the vehicle parking lane, as well as the use of flexible poles, which are reflective plastic poles that are bolted to the road surface and ensure a visual and physical separation between the bike lane and the rest of the road. This offers cyclists and e-scooter users additional protection and separation from automobile traffic. The decision to use this design was informed by its success in other Canadian and North American cities, as well as lessons learned from temporary bike lanes, of similar design, which were piloted in 2019.

What:

New facilities on Living Arts Drive include:

• Permanent cycle paths on the road, composed of paint and flexible posts
• Three new bicycle parking racks
• New public art

Or:

Performing Arts Route between Burnhamthorpe Road West and Rathburn Road West

How? ‘Or’ What:

Living Arts Drive remains fully open to road traffic, including vehicles. The vehicle lanes have been narrowed slightly to accommodate the new bicycle lanes. Drivers can continue to park on Living Arts Drive using the vehicle parking lane.

This new cycling infrastructure advances the objectives of the City’s Cycling Master Plan and COVID-19 Recovery Framework for Active Transportation improving bicycle safety and helping to build a safe, connected, convenient and comfortable cycling network in Mississauga. The design of the bike path is also in line with the City’s Vision Zero initiatives and proposed complete street guidelines being developed as part of the Lane change project, which aim to make Mississauga streets safer for everyone through street planning and design.

Residents are invited to share their comments on the new infrastructure in line. These comments will help inform many similar projects underway this year and into the future.

To learn more about Mississauga’s cycling infrastructure, programs and projects, visit mississaugabikes.ca.

Key words

Media contact:
Megan Schabla
Communications coordinator
City of Mississauga
905-615-3200, ext. 8537
[email protected]
TTY: 905-896-5151