Wharf/Humboldt All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bike Lanes – British Columbia, Canada

The City of Victoria, British Columbia initiated the 2019 construction of cycling facilities on Wharf Street and Humboldt Street in the heart of the City. The objective was to provide greater protection for vulnerable street users and encourage the use of non-auto modes. As the lead planners and engineers, we delivered a full range of consulting services for the implementation of bi-directional physically protected bike lanes and Vancouver Island’s first advisory bike lanes. This facility is a critical 1.5 km link in the City’s All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Cycling Network. The project included state-of-the-art intersection treatments, including Vancouver Island’s first signalized scramble intersection crossing, and public realm improvements serving other non-auto users. The project also features a pedestrian scramble crossing at the intersection of Wharf and Government Streets.

A Downtown Street For All Ages And Abilities

The project location within the congested downtown core posed unique design and construction challenges in accommodating all modes without impacting closely fronting buildings. The bike lanes were installed without impacts to existing pedestrian space and with a focused effort on retaining as many on-street parking spaces as possible. Intersection improvements including protected intersection corners, bicycle signal phases, and green road surface markings for conflict zones with vehicles provide safe intersection crossings. Efforts to improve the public realm included the construction of two pedestrian plazas and implementation of transit shelters, street trees, and inviting street furniture. Working closely with the City stakeholders, the project was completed on time and on budget and has successfully contributed to the City of Victoria’s strategic goals to reduce automobile dependence.

Our Approach

Our complete streets approach to design promotes a sustainable and healthy future for our cities by encouraging low-carbon modes of transportation and creating a lively, livable communities. The reconstruction of the Wharf/Humboldt Street AAA cycling facility achieved these objectives by taking an innovative approach to ensure public realm features and space for all modes are included in the constrained right-of-way.

A robust change control process and detailed communication protocol were followed to ensure project stakeholders were engaged in all stages of project decision-making.

The project was nominated for the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia (ACEC-BC) 2021 Award of Engineering Excellence for Transportation and Bridges.

Our Leadership Role

We exhibited our broad active transportation design expertise through involvement in design and construction. We provided the following services towards the completion of this project.

• Project Management
• Preliminary and Detailed Design
• Municipal Utility Design
• Traffic Analysis
• Cost Estimating
• Tender package preparation
• Contract administration, inspection, and engineering services during construction
• Stakeholder Engagement