Residents of several Edmonton neighbourhoods are formally requesting the Alberta government to intervene and halt a controversial bike lane expansion by the city.
To date, Edmonton City Council has refused to acknowledge overwhelming local opposition to the plans.
The Active Transportation Network Expansion project would convert roads to one-way traffic, remove street parking, and install protected bike lanes along 92 Street, 96 Street, and 124 Avenue — changes residents say they were never properly informed of, let alone consulted on.
“Our community is not opposed to cycling or safe transportation,” wrote petition representative Jeremiah Rawling in a May 16 letter to interim Municipal Affairs Minister Joseph Schow. “What we oppose is the unfair, unsafe and undemocratic way this particular plan has been forced upon us.”
Rawling said residents only learned of the project in late April, when a March 31 letter from the city arrived in some — but not all — mailboxes. “We were not invited to shape this plan. We were not consulted,” he wrote.
A formal petition was submitted to the city clerk on May 15, backed by 292 valid signatures. Of those, 262 were from residents within the affected area. A total of 182 unique households signed — representing 57 per cent of the 317 homes along the planned bike lanes.
Despite gathering a clear majority of signatures within two weeks, Rawling said this number might still be under-represented as some residents were hesitant to open their doors to strangers, had no idea what the canvassers were talking about (because they hadn’t been consulted), and other perceived safety issues.
Rawling held a meeting at the community hall on May 15, 2025, to ensure consensus on the wording of the letter. After reading the letter to attendees, Rawling held a vote. When asking for those in favour, “ayes” were heard throughout the crowd of between 50 and 75 participants. When Rawling asked for any opposition, nobody spoke out against the petition.
Thursday’s meeting was the second. It followed an initial meeting held by Rawling on April 30, 2025. Rawling had hand-delivered around 200 letters to each affected residence in the neighbourhood. Over 100 people showed up to the first meeting, most of whom signed the petition. Everyone was able to speak and share their thoughts.
Even other communities showed up, telling the tales of their past battles with the city, which failed, as the city installed bike lanes in their neighbourhoods despite strong opposition.
The first meeting saw one or two people in opposition, but the overwhelming majority of attendees were trying to figure out how to save their community from bike lanes.
While the city is planning to remove parking to build these bike lanes, they are simultaneously building 12 and 16-plexes in the neighbourhood, leaving residents perplexed as to where they could possibly park.
Numerous disabled people and seniors who rely on street parking to access their homes have raised concerns. Residents from other communities have told stories of having their homes and foundations damaged during previous bike lane construction projects. The city and insurance companies allegedly told them to kick rocks. Emergency vehicle access was also a major concern raised during the meetings.
Residents say existing east-west and north-south bike routes already serve the area — including protected lanes on 119 Avenue and a shared-use path along 97 Street — making the new plan a redundant and disruptive duplication.
Residents also expressed outrage that the city plans to tear up recently improved streets that were funded through local improvement taxes, calling it fiscally irresponsible and deeply disrespectful.
Despite the majority opposition, the city has not responded to the petition. Under the Municipal Government Act, projects classified as capital items can be ignored as mere correspondence — a loophole residents believe was used to avoid accountability.
“This isn’t just a technicality. It’s a deliberate strategy to sideline community opposition and avoid public accountability,” Rawling told attendees during a community meeting on May 15.
Residents say they had previously invited their local councillor, Ashley Salvador, and city transportation staff to attend their first public meeting on April 30. Neither attended.
“It is very disappointing that I emailed both of you on the 23rd, and I have yet to receive a response… Please let me know if you would like to attend,” wrote longtime resident Margherita Gosselin in an April 29 invitation to city officials.
City officials have justified the project using city-wide feedback from a 2019–2020 bike plan. However, residents point to city planning records showing no mention of 96 Street or 124 Avenue in any public engagement before this year.
Rawling said residents now see provincial action as their only recourse.
“There must be balance. There must be justice,” he wrote in the letter to Schow.
The municipal elections are taking place in Edmonton and across Alberta on October 20, 2025. Rawling said he received the city’s project letter 178 days before the planned election, two days before the 180-day cutoff for initiating a recall petition under the Municipal Government Act.
“This timing appears strategic,” said Rawling. “Potentially designed to prevent residents from using available democratic tools to stop the planning.”
Rawling gave the province five business days to reply to the email sent on Friday. Over 80 people were CC’d on the email — primarily residents who asked to be.
Editor’s note: The author is a resident of the affected Edmonton neighbourhood and a signatory on the petition discussed in this article.