Your bike is your complimentary Halifax Transit ticket during the Macdonald Bridge closure

Cyclists will not be able to cycle across the Macdonald Bridge for the next 10 days due to the ramps are closed for repairs.

But Peter Zimmer says that doesn’t mean cyclists should resort to other means of transportation.

Zimmer said Halifax Harbor Bridges approached the Halifax Cycling Coalition about a month ago about closing the bike lanes from July 3 to 13.

“Essentially, the bridge commission determined that the sidewalks on the ramps on both sides of the bridge needed attention because they were in kind of a hard condition,” said Zimmer, a member of the board of directors of the Halifax Cycling Coalition, an interview on Sunday.

Contractors must work around the clock to get the job done with as few travel interruptions as possible, according to Halifax Harbor Bridges.

For those using the bike path to get from Halifax to Dartmouth and vice versa, the closure of the bike path is indeed a travel disruption.

That’s where the Halifax Cycling Coalition stepped in.

“One of the points we raised was whether we can make this as bike-friendly as possible,” said Zimmer, who is also the coalition board project leader on the bikeway closure.

Zimmer said the bridge commission was willing to buy transit tickets for cyclists to use for the duration of the bike path closure, but no one knew how to distribute them to people who needed them.

“So we put on thinking caps and came up with a solution,” Zimmer said.

“Your bike is your ticket to cross.”

That means cyclists will be able to park their bikes in the racks at the front of Halifax Transit buses on Routes 1, 3, 5 and 10 during the bikeway closure to cross the harbor for free.

During the closure, you can board Halifax Transit routes 1, 3, 5 or 10 to cross the harbor for free. Your bike is your ticket! Each bus has a bicycle rack in the front that fits two bicycles.

../4

— Halifax Cycling (@IBIKEHFX) July 1, 2023

Cyclists can also cross the harbor for free by ferry during the 10-day project.

“Or they can just go to the pedestrian side of the bridge and cross with their bikes,” said Zimmer, who noted that it takes about 12 to 15 minutes to walk across.

Those with disabilities that prevent their bicycles from walking can ride with extreme caution on the footpath and yield to those walking.

Zimmer said there will be a guide at each end of the bridge throughout the week during peak hours (6:30-9:30 a.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m.) to assist cyclists who may not be aware of the closure or the options available to them are available.

“We want to make this as friction-free as possible for the cyclists,” said Zimmer.

He acknowledged that the bike racks on Halifax Transit buses only fit two bikes at a time and have mechanical limitations that make them unsuitable for certain bike models, such as a long cargo bike. The ferry now has room for two fat tire bicycles and a total of 11 places for cyclists.

“It’s a convenience within the framework of what current technology allows,” he said.

If you’re a cyclist trying to estimate whether or not a bike rack will be full when the bus gets to you, Zimmer doesn’t know.

“That came up in our discussion: how many people are likely to cross the bridge? And the basic answer was they don’t know,” Zimmer said.

He said that unfortunately the bridge commission and the municipality do not have good data on the number of cyclists crossing the bridge or taking public transport.

Zimmer said there has been steady growth in cyclists throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality, whether for daily commuting or recreational use, and the coalition will continue to advocate for improvements on their behalf.

The closure of the cycle path will begin at midnight on July 2 and reopen at 5:30 am on July 13.