New on-street bicycle lanes are coming to a stretch of Morrison Street.

At its meeting last Tuesday, Niagara Falls city council approved a staff recommendation designating a 1.5-metre-wide bicycle lane on each side of Morrison Street, between Dorchester Road and 100 metres west of Drummond Road.

Because a road resurfacing project is scheduled for that section, staff said it was also an opportunity to widen the road to include a dedicated on-street cycling area.

Council also made a motion that staff look into connecting the city’s various cycling lanes.

“Right now, we’re a little bit disjointed in terms of our bike lanes,” said Coun. Victor Pietrangelo.

Bike lanes are often added to municipal and regional roads as part of resurfacing and reconstructing projects.

“We’re building as we go, but they’re not connected,” Pietrangelo said.

“Bike lanes offer a sense of security for a lot of people and also a sense of safety,” he added. “It would be great to have some type of active transportation system.”

Morrison is a two-lane, two-way arterial road with various pavement widths of seven to 7.5 metres between Dorchester and Drummond.

“The cycling facility will consist of a 1.5-metre dedicated lane on each side of the roadway, increasing the total roadway pavement width to 10.3 metres,” said a staff report.

The bike lane will end at a point 100 metres west of Drummond Road.

“When the intersection of Drummond Road and Morrison Street is reconstructed, the west approach will be widened to connect the bike lanes to the intersection,” the report said.

Alison Langley is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach her via email: alison.langley@niagaradailies.com