Choosing to see the glass half-full, Vision Vancouver councillor Raymond Louie has told the Straight that caucus colleague Coun. Geoff Meggs’s bicycle accident on Tuesday (March 9) could have an upside.

“Accidents happen every day,” Louie, a full-time cyclist, said by phone from his home, where he was recovering from a bout of flu. “But it helps make drivers aware that these things do happen, and the fact that Geoff is the unlucky recipient and he himself was injured might in fact help create a better awareness overall, for cyclists and for drivers.”

Meggs was cycling on Angus Drive, which is a designated bike route, at West 51st Avenue when he was struck by a car and left unconscious, according to Kevin Quinlan, Mayor Gregor Robertson’s assistant.

Quinlan, who has visited Meggs in hospital, said the contrite car driver stayed on the scene until paramedics arrived.

Today (March 11), Meggs tweeted that an MRI has shown he doesn’t need surgery and he is focussed on a “long, careful recovery”.

Louie was unequivocal when the Straight asked whether this high-profile spill highlighted the need for more bike lanes that are separated by a physical barrier from vehicular traffic.

“Of course,” Louie said. “What kind of softball question is that?”¦Certainly an expansion of that [is needed], and upgrades to our existing bicycle routes. I understand that Geoff was on a bicycle route, and his accident occurred on that route. Since my first term I have been asking for not just expansion of bicycle routes, but actual improvement along those routes as well. This is very important to the cycling community. If we are ever going to increase the modal share of people riding their bikes in the city, we have to have a combination of things, including an improvement of existing facilities and separation of those facilities as well.”

Louie said he has asked city staff to look into “best practices” in places around the world where the interface between cars and cyclists is better than here.

Lone NPA councillor and avid cyclist Suzanne Anton told the Straight she too felt strongly about this, as she said she has had a few near-misses while on two wheels.

“I was very sorry to hear about it,” Anton said of Meggs’s crash. “Cycling is hazardous. The whole point of the work that the city is doing on bike lanes, and has been doing for many years, is to take some of that hazard out of it.”

But, Anton added, there is a paradox.

“What is needed to prevent accidents like Geoff’s is for drivers to be more accustomed to cyclists,” she said. “What will make drivers more accustomed to cyclists is if there are more cyclists. What will make more cyclists is if there are better cycling facilities. It’s unlikely that the city will change all those unmarked bike routes—they are efficient and they are on the side streets and they seem to work pretty well. But what obviously is still not working well is the awareness of vehicles towards cyclists.”

While cycling in Berlin recently, Anton—who has ridden all the way across Canada with husband Olin—was “just amazed at how responsive the drivers were to bikes”.

“They deferred to you all the time,” Anton said. “That took me very pleasantly by surprise. Now, you don’t have that here. I don’t think it’s so much that they don’t want to; it’s just that they are not as aware that they have to look out for bikes.”

Vision councillor Kerry Jang, who currently does not own a bicycle, also weighed in on the issue of separated lanes.

“I’m in favour of any action we can take to increase safety for cyclists and cars alike,” Jang said. “I think that’s absolutely clear in these types of things. Whether it’s separated lanes or dedicated lanes, anything we can do to improve safety for both cars and bikes is paramount. There are a number of ways of getting there. Not just separated lanes, but there are a number of options that have been discussed ad nauseam in council.”

On Wednesday (March 10), the city officially opened a two-way separate bike lane on the Dunsmuir Viaduct.