Courtenay, British Columbia is a small city on the east coast of Vancouver Island. It is the only urban community located in the Comox Valley.
Courtenay
The City of Courtenay released a cycling network plan on February 4th, 2019 called “Connecting Courtney”. The plan focuses on enhancing active transportation modes, specifically cycling. “Per the City’s Strategic Plan, the Cycling Plan and future cycling projects should apply what was learned on the Complete Street Pilot Project.” (p.2).
Sub-section 4.1 highlights the Bicycle Facility Toolbox which follows a “complete streets approach that assigns space in the cross-section to all modes of transportation” (p. 14).
“The City of Courtenay is implementing a Complete Street pilot project between Fitzgerald Ave and Johnston Ave on 5th Street. The City of Courtenay received $3.25 million from the federal Gas Tax Fund, Strategic Priorities category in order to move forward with this project. The project includes improvements to the streetscape such as:
- separated/raised bike lanes;
- improved sidewalks, and;
- improved landscaping.
More information is available on the project page.
Courtenay, British Columbia places a major emphasis on Complete Streets in its 2014 “25 Year Vision for Multi-Modal Transportation” plan. Courtenay devotes an entire section to Complete Streets, which includes numerous design examples for implementing Complete Streets (p. 27-31). The plan even includes a Complete Streets Toolbox as an appendix with potential strategies for accommodating cyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. The plan’s Road Cross Section appendix also includes numerous examples of both implemented and potential Complete Streets transformations in Courtenay. Courtenay’s “25-Year Vision” demonstrates clear, ambitious and thorough integration of Complete Streets concepts into a transportation plan that will hopefully be emulated by other Canadian municipalities.
The City of Courtenay has created an updated Transportation Plan for 2019, but it does not have any mention of complete streets.