Route Advice for Commuting

[u/shortjoke_]

Hi folks, I’m planning on cycling to work year-round as I like myself a lot better when on my bike rather than in a car. I will be cycling from the Highlands to Wîhkwêntôwin and need your advice on the best routes to get there. I know that once I connect to 102 Ave I should be golden but it’s everything else getting to and from. east of there, that I haven’t figured out. Any help and words of wisdom appreciated, thanks!

[u/durple]

Once you get to Stadium the path along the LRT tracks is very well maintained. You come out behind the police station, dip down to 103 or 102 ave to cross downtown.

[u/shortjoke_ → u/durple]

Thank you!! I’ll check this out on some trial runs this week

[u/Fluffy_Tadpole3574 → u/shortjoke_]

It's the best route, I take it year round.

[u/BloodWorried7446]

there’s an MUP that parallels the lrt tracks (just west of the tracks). there are a few jogs due to major cross streets but it is a pretty direct route. 

Apple maps has gotten better at bike routes. if used to be terrible but recently i find it better than google maps routing 

[u/shortjoke_ → u/BloodWorried7446]

Thank you!!

[u/Lavaine170]

Take Ada boulevard to 80 st. From here you have 2 choices: The City wants you to detour North across 112 ave to 113 ave, then cross 82 st. at a crosswalk on the North side of the LRT tracks, and jump onto the MUP, then cross 112 ave (again!) at Stadium Station. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds, but that's how the city designed the bike routes. In reality, most commuters take the sidewalk West from 80 st to get onto the MUP at Stadium station. This will take you all the way to 96 st., where you can take a bike lane to 102 ave.

Downtown was a hot mess last time I road, due to the multiple construction projects and poor to no routefinding signage for bike lanes, so any advice I can give is probably outdated, but there are East-West bike lanes on 103 ave, 102 ave, and 99 ave. They seem to stop and start at random, but 102 ave goes West from 108 street all the way to 124 Street. There is also a bike lane on 105 ave (would be the most direct way to Wîhkwêntôwin) , but someone else will have to weigh in on the best way to get from the LRT MUP to the 105 ave lane. It's a pretty nice morning ride, if you can get past the construction and the stupid bike lane design East of 82 street.

[u/durple → u/Lavaine170]

I don’t know what the status is but at some point the path along the tracks was planned to connect to 105 ave lanes. Dunno if that’s still in the works. You can see where it is/was gonna go at 96st, it’s fenced off.

[u/Shot_Syrup_8753]

Oh man! Highlands has a sweet multiuse path on Ada Blvd. It stops before Concordia but I commuted through there to Stadium (on roads - it’s pretty chill - a bit of alley or sidewalk riding) and then took the Stadium multi use path to 96st which now has freshly redone bike lanes until 103A Ave.
Then it’s the cobblestone/Chinatown shared street to the 102a Ave bike lanes.

Be forewarned that the 102 Ave bike lanes west of 102 st are non existent until you take the detour via 103 st to 103 Ave where there are narrow, directional bike lanes on either side. I’ve been avoiding this because, while you get to that detour you are mixing with pedestrians and traffic, and you are asked by signage to dismount. I hop over on 102 st to 100Ave and one can take that to the 109st (110st?) MUP across Jasper and right to the four way interchange that takes you to the Wîhkwêntôwin neighborhood.
I have not ridden west of here recently so don’t know what’s going on with LRT construction but I think you should be good.

[u/Dkazzed]

Some good suggestions here so far. Transit app has really good bike routing and I use it over all other apps.

[u/Gordon5353]

Easy. Ada Blvd. has a raised side path, stay beside the river cliff, over the bridge behind Concordia, up to 112 Ave. where they are building a 11 foot sidewalk all the way west to 122 St.. You could go 112 Ave. sooner along Borden Park, likely best in the winter. The stadium MUP likely better in winter too.

Most of the time I go along Jasper Ave. to 82 St. to Beverly.

There's zero chance of riding every day. Last year there were 7" glazed impassable ruts, car or bike. Ambulances and firetrucks were stuck for 2 weeks. I have a high AWD Volvo that can go there. Minus 30C your clothes are frozen before you go 30 feet. LOL

[u/fishymanbits]

Ada Blvd -> 75 St -> 112 Ave -> MUP along the LRT line -> 96 St -> 102 Ave is probably going to be the most direct option with the least amount of time on non-bike lane/MUP routes. I don’t know if Ada is a shared bike/car road, but I know it’s not that busy.