Vancouver Cedar party revives debate over bike lanes
It may seem counterintuitive that adding a bike lane will reduce biker safety, but there is a strong argument that is what will happen [“New party vows fewer bike lanes, democracy”, September 26–October 3]. By closing one of the main traffic arteries on the West Side of Vancouver, that traffic needs to go somewhere.
The majority of those cars will have to move to the closest major roads. West 4th Avenue is already a slow road with traffic problems. Some cars will move to West Broadway, though the traffic doesn’t flow much smoother there at the moment. A small percentage of the cars will move to West 12th, West 16th and King Edward Boulevard. There is only so far south that someone travelling downtown will divert from their previous trip along Cornwall Avenue.
This is why I foresee many motorists choosing West 3rd Avenue to avoid the traffic on West 4th. That’s because West 3rd is the widest lane north of West 4th. As well, many a car will head to West 8th Avenue to escape the traffic along West Broadway.
Both of these are heavily used bike lanes. The increase in cars on the bike lanes will endanger many cyclists. To allow for an increase in car traffic along these other bike lanes flies in the face of the safety argument used to push the Cornwall bike lane in the first place.
> Tao Phillips / Vancouver
Comments
3 Comments
Richard Campbell
Oct 8, 2013 at 3:25pm
3rd and 8th are barely wide enough for a car to pass an on-coming bike let alone a car. People trying to drive down either will find it a frustrating and slow option as the have to wait for oncoming traffic. There is a traffic diverter being installed on 3rd just in case. Most people will use Pt Grey instead of 3rd anyway. All and all, this project will be a big improvement for the safety of people cycling and walking.
And, most of the day, there is surprisingly little traffic on West Broadway so I expect congestion won't be a big issue anyway.
SPY vs SPY
Oct 8, 2013 at 9:46pm
In the grossly manipulated discussions about closing Cornwall and Point Gray Roads to vehicle traffic, there was never and debate about leaving the roads open to vehicle traffic.
I went to 2 x debates and the forms that were handed out by the City of Vancouver stated - Do you like option A - B - C or D. All of which were Road Closure options.
There was never any way for Citizens to say - Just leave the Damn Roads Alone, nor was any polling done.
Just to remind everyone, at one time a the City of Van was offered $10 Million to build a Seawall from Burrard Street to Jericho Beach - and the City turned it down.
They turned it down because about 90 home owners on Point Gray Road did not want a seawall in front of their Million Dollar View Homes.
You want folks to use Public Transit - Put a toll booth at the North end of Lions Gate and Iron Workers Bridge and charge $100.00 for any vehicle travelling south from 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM every day of the week.
Vancouver's traffic problems come from traffic from North and West Van, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Langley etc.
brad t
Oct 10, 2013 at 8:56am
This presumes car use will stay the same. But car use will go down. Every person on their bikes means one less car. We know with 100% certainty that initiatives like bike lanes get people out of their cars. It's hard to argue 1 lane will do much, but overall bike use is way up and car use is down. I see SFU reported recently that traffic in and out of the downtown core has fallen to 1965 levels! It's working. The future does not belong to the car in Vancouver at least. It's getting harder to drive, and easier to use alternatives.