Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Tyson Road between Watson Road and South Sumas Road is pictured. The B.C. government announced Thursday (Feb. 16) it will fund a project to add sidewalks and cycling infrastructure to Tyson Road, a heavily traveled road in Sardis.
Tyson Road sidewalks, bike lanes

Province awards grant to add sidewalks, cycling infrastructure on Tyson Road in Sardis

Feb 16, 2023 | 10:29 AM

CHILLIWACK — The B.C. government announced Thursday (Feb. 16) it will help fund the installation of sidewalks and cycling infrastructure on Tyson Road between Evans Road and Watson Road in Sardis.

The City of Chilliwack has been awarded $500,000 in grant funding to add sidewalks and cycling lanes to the heavily traveled road in Sardis.

“The City of Chilliwack is pleased to have been awarded $500,000 in grant funding as part of the B.C. Active Transportation Grant program,” Mayor Ken Popove said in a statement. “This funding will help benefit pedestrian and cycling improvements along Tyson Road, including the addition of sidewalks and bike lanes. We are excited to connect pathways and cycling paths that are currently disconnected and complete a key connection for students of Mount Slesse Middle and Tyson Elementary Schools.”

City staff will move forward with design and B.C. Hydro coordination sometime in 2023. Construction is set to begin in spring or summer 2024, and will follow a competitive procurement process. Details will be released on the city’s website as the project progresses, according to Jamie Leggatt, director of communications for the City of Chilliwack.

Projects approved to receive funding through the Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants program include multi-use pathways, protected bike lanes, pedestrian bridges and regional connections, as well as lighting, sidewalks and other safety improvements. For this intake period, $20 million in funding was budgeted, an increase of $8 million from the 2021-2022 funding cycle.

For local governments, the province will invest between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of a project’s cost based on the population size.

Back on October 4, 2022, Chilliwack City Council approved a motion at its meeting to pursue a plan to add sidewalks and cycling lanes to both sides of Tyson Road between Evans Road and Watson Road. Council had been asked to authorize staff to apply for shared funding under the B.C. government’s Active Transportation Grant, which would enable the city to receive significant funding towards project costs to fund the development of active transportation infrastructure for all ages and abilities.

The provincial grant typically covers things like multi-use protected travel lanes, pedestrian and cycling safety improvements, and lighting and way finding for up to two-shovel ready projects, according to a staff report.

Of note, the Tyson Road project is already included in the city’s capital plan, has been identified in the 2018 Transportation Plan Update, and accounts for a core cycling route in the 2017 Cycle Vision Plan. McElhanney Consulting Services completed a pre-design evaluation of the Tyson Road project in 2018 and determined a Class C estimate would cost $5.3 million.

The Tyson Road component of the project consists of street lighting, barrier curbs, sidewalks, drainage, cycle lanes, and vehicle lane improvements; it will connect a north-south network from Wellington Avenue to Canada Education Park and the UFV Chilliwack campus.