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“It’s pretty shameful for the city to have to return an award like this,” Edmonton Bicycle Commuters executive director Christopher Chan said.

Chan said the audit wasn’t given proper consideration by council, which he said has shown a bias toward the interests of motorists over cyclists.

He also said council’s vote to rip up bike lanes has the city’s cycling community feeling grim. Less than a week after the vote, removal of the 95th Avenue lanes began. Chan has been receiving emails from people who have embarked on their daily cycling commute only to find their route has disappeared.

“People who ride bikes don’t really feel like their safety is being valued right now,” Chan said.

People who ride bikes don’t really feel like their safety is being valued right now

Coun. Ben Henderson said he was sad to hear the award was being returned. Henderson was one of two councillors who voted against removing the bike lanes.

Like Chan, he is worried about a pattern of the city deferring to cars whenever there is conflict between bicycles and motor vehicles. He hopes councillors who voted for the lanes to be removed will stick to their word that this is a step toward putting in higher-quality bike lanes. But he’s skeptical it will happen.

“It worries me a little bit, this idea that you can do bike lanes without change or consequence,” Henderson said.

Coun. Andrew Knack, who voted to remove the lanes, said he appreciates all the work that went into them.

“Although disappointing we have to return the award, at the same time, we have to do deal with the full issue itself,” he said.

Knack, a cyclist, said he has high hopes for something better to be installed in place of the lanes being removed, particularly on 95th Avenue.

“It’s an over-engineered road that could actually support a dedicated cycle track, four lanes of traffic and a sidewalk. So you could actually have the best of all three worlds,” he said.

Knack is scheduled to meet with Chan on Wednesday to discuss bike routes.

pparsons@edmontonjournal.com

Twitter.com/paigeeparsons