Niagara Region will begin re-installing bicycle bollards along Martindale Road in St. Catharines on Wednesday as part of an ongoing pilot project to assess their effectiveness on improving road safety. The Region will begin the June installation of bollards in same area of Martindale Road piloted in 2022 between Elderwood Drive and Grapeview Drive along with an extension of the pilot area from Erion Drive to QEW South Service Road. In July, the installation of an additional extension of the pilot area is planned for the area of the QEW North Ramp to Main Street. The extended bollard pilot areas will allow assessment of the bollards’ effectiveness in a wider variety of traffic conditions along the road corridor and provide the ability to test different installation options such as alternating the bollards along each roadside. Residents and motorists in the area can expect minor disruptions as the bollards are being installed. The pilot is anticipated to run until mid-September of this year. Bicycle bollards are a common road safety technology used to slow down traffic and provide safer conditions for cyclists by providing a visual barrier to separate cyclists from vehicular traffic. Using bicycle bollards is one of a variety of road safety tools and technologies being considered and implemented by Niagara Region as part of its Vision Zero initiative. Vision Zero aims to improve road safety for all users and eliminate death and serious injury resulting from vehicle collisions using a variety of tactics including engineering, technology and enforcement. Niagara Region encourages feedback on the pilot project. Community members interested in providing input are encouraged to complete the online feedback form.
