A few free parking spaces may thwart a recommendation for a street bike lane in Dundas.

Two separate reports by the City of Hamilton and former Town of Dundas recommended a bike lane on Hatt Street between Main and Market streets. The lane location was first identified over 10 years ago.

Now city staff are looking for a way to accomodate the bike lane, despite several on-street parking spaces local businesses don't want to lose.

Reasonable price

But Peter Hutton, a Dundas resident and member of Hamilton's Transit User's Group, figures a few free parking spaces is a reasonable price to pay for improving bicycle travel.

"At some point, there has to be a compromise," Mr. Hutton said. "Absolutely, I'd like to see the spots lost in favour of a bike lane. That's something you should do."

Mr. Hutton noted plenty of paid parking spaces available in downtown parking lots. He would prefer all drivers pay for parking, while cyclists get the benefit of a bike lane.

Brian Applebee, a traffic technologist at the City of Hamilton, said nearly the entire length of Hatt Street, from Main to Bond, has been officially identified by the city as a bike route. One section, between Main and Market, has twice been identified as a site for a bike lane.

Traffic staff are now reviewing ways to accomplish this goal.

One option being considered is leaving the parking spots and not actually placing a separate lane on the roadway. Instead, the bike stencils found in bike lanes would be placed between the parking spots and the traffic lane.

"That will remind cyclists and drivers it is a shared facility," Mr. Applebee said.

Bike lanes are recommended in areas where traffic volume and speed require a separation of cars and trucks from bicycles. Mr. Applebee said stencils without lanes are used in other municipalities as a reminder, but Hamilton prefers to use actual bike lanes whenever possible.

"We can't always," he said. "A lot of our work is retrofitting."

It is possible to eliminate or move the existing parking spaces on Hatt between Main and Market to clear the way for a standard bike lane. Mr. Applebee said the traffic department is considering that as one possible option.

But Mr. Applebee said no decision has been made and there is also no deadline set for a decision.