Will be opening? But I rode across it already many times this and last week to get into downtown! I guess this will be the official grand opening with the photos and such. 

Fine and dandy but to spend that kind of money on a bike lane the people who use this should have to get insurance and br taxed for the use of it the same rate as the rest of us who drive cars. 

@DS: I ride a bike. I did not know that I could get out of paying taxes. Please let me know how. But I don't see how a protected bike lane would require insurance now, since the protected barrier would make it less likely the insurance would ever been required... 

I don't quite understand this really strong anti-car pro-bike thing. Its like people in this city hate drivers for being able to own cars. 

DS - many of us who use bikes to get around the downtown core ALSO own cars and pay insurance - some of us even own a home and pay city taxes and even renters are paying for the costs through their rent. 

I drive for a living and bike for excercise and this really puts me out having to come into downtown every day. 

what I meant by taxes is the .05 cents extra on gas to pay for all this stuff 

So the bike lanes are in operation, a good thing. I wish we had more true bike routes in Maple Ridge, instead of the odd painted line.


Hopefully someday bike riders will in downtown will stop using the sidewalks, and stop charging thru cross walks full of people at top speed, and then swearing at them and threatening them with violence if they object in any way.


I wonder what this bike lane means to the longer term prospects for the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts? Is there still a demand that they be torn down to make way for more $600+/sf condo suites? Or is the City Engineering Dept and City Council more interested in getting Fed/Prov money for the Malkin Connector?

Rod Smelser 

Protected bike lanes are one of the most cost-effective ways to deal with traffic congestion, by creating a safe space for willing but cautious cyclists to adopt biking as a means of transportation to work/school/etc. This move was good idea that was long overdue. More will come. It will make our city a better place for one and all. Remember how the Burrard Bridge bike lane was supposed to be the end of civilization? Instead, it has encouraged some folks to try cycling and made it safer to people of all ages to be able to ride across the bridge from the West Side to family friendly destinations such as Stanley Park, the Roundhouse CC and David Lam Park, etc. IMO, the shift towards cycling-friendly infrastructure has huge long-term benefits that shouldn't be passed up just because a single occupant vehicle user has to spend a few extra minutes getting into town. If traffic congestion is a huge issue for you, by all means take action. Talk to your neighbours, find out who works near you, set up a car pool for a couple of days a week (or more) and you can be part of the solution. Expecting to be able to race around town unimpeded at 60 kph is just unrealistic, despite what those sexy car ads full of sexy people on strangely empty city streets would have you believe. 

DS wrote: "...taxed for the use of it the same rate as the rest of us who drive cars..."

one of the most persistent myths of modern society - that cyclists aren't paying their fare share for road use.

In fact private car ownership is one of he most subsidized aspects of our society. In Metro Vancouver taxpayers subsidize car owners to the tune of $6.6 billioin per year (http://bc.transport2000.ca/learning/background/transport_2021/cost_repor...). In places like Ontario it is even higher.

So cyclists who drive little or never are actually helping to subsidize the polluting habits of frequent car drivers. 

I, for one, am more than happy to pay $.05 for each gallon of petrol I use while riding my bicycle. Bring it on! 

Interesting- so cyclists should be taxed, but pedestrians not...? I'm pretty sure there are a lot more sidewalks than private bike lanes! Though I must admit- 300k does seem like a hefty tab for a few concrete dividers and some road re-painting, but It is nice to see this new lane! I've used it everyday since it's opening and it really doesn't seem to be affecting rush hour traffic much either. Hopefully this will help encourage people to get on their bikes, instead of into their cars.