September 14, 2021 - Every time we travel, our surroundings – other people, the design of a road or pathway, traffic lights and signs, and changing weather – require us to make many decisions about how we move.
Dangerous choices like speeding, following too closely, distracted driving and jaywalking, cause many of the collisions on our streets.
Vision Zero can be achieved when everyone – from City staff to citizens to community groups, businesses and organizations – works together, learns from each other, and makes bold choices that prioritize safety and livability for all. We all play a role in making the roads safer and in building a healthy, vibrant city.
Safe Passing
Safe mobility is essential to a healthy, vibrant city for all residents. In order to make our streets safer for everyone regardless of how they move around Edmonton, the City has passed a Charter Bylaw to set minimum safe passing distances that motor vehicle drivers need to give cyclists when passing them on the road.
The required distance is a minimum of:
– 1 meter between the vehicle and the bicycle where the posted speed limit is 60 km/h or less, and
– 1.5 meters between the vehicle and the bicycle where the posted speed limit is greater than 60 km/h
This change will be effective as of September 30, 2021.
Why Define a Safe Passing Distance?
Research has shown that drivers give more space when passing cyclists in jurisdictions that have safe passing laws than in jurisdictions that do not. Roughly 87% of crashes where someone riding a bike was killed or seriously injured occurred on a road without protected bike infrastructure. At mid-blocks, 30% of crashes where someone biking was killed or severely injured involved a vehicle driver hitting them from behind or while passing. Throughout the public engagement conducted to inform the Safe Mobility Strategy, people reported that close passing and aggressive driving are top safety concerns when they are cycling.
Specifying the distance required for a driver to safely pass a cyclist helps create clear expectations for all road users and will help keep everyone safe on our roads.
Additionally, the City’s Bike Plan and Alberta Bicycle Facilities Design Guide both identify Safe Passing Laws as best practice.
Project Status and Next Steps
This topic was previously presented and discussed at the February 17, 2021, Community and Public Services Committee meeting where members of the public registered to speak.
On June 7, 2021, City Council gave first reading to Charter Bylaw 19642. A Public Hearing and, Second and Third Readings were completed on September 1, 2021. The bylaw will become effective on September 30, 2021.
An education campaign will occur in spring 2022 to set clear expectations for safe road user behaviours in order to make our streets safer.
The Charter Bylaw 19642 and accompanying report are available online for viewing here.
