Login / RegisterVancouver council approves Dunsmuir Viaduct separated bike lane, pushes downtown trial
Vancouver city council has unanimously approved a separated bike lane for the Dunsmuir Viaduct.
“We want to cement the mood of the public, that the provision of bike lanes is the new normal,” Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs told a city services and budgets committee meeting today (February 4).
Following council’s approval of the new two-way lane, slated to cost no more than $300,000, Meggs moved that council support, in principle, connecting the Burrard Bridge and Dunsmuir Viaduct to the downtown core with additional separated bike lanes.
He then added two amendments of his own, including a recommendation that staff report to council this spring with “options for a trial of separated lanes in the central business district this year”. The final request was that staff report on options in 2010 to “conduct a trial of a fully separated bike lane or lanes on part of the city’s existing street bikeways”.
Speaking earlier on the same item, city manager of strategic transportation planning Lon LaClaire said 2006 census data showed that approximately four percent of Vancouverites bike to work.
“Cycling is a rapidly-expanding mode in Vancouver,” LaClaire told council. “We’ve seen about a tripling of cycling for all purposes.”
LaClaire then ran through a presentation on bike initiatives in Portland and Copenhagen. He noted that Vancouver has 400 kilometre lanes of bike lane infrastructure currently.
A City of Copenhagen study showed that “improved health from increased cycling outweighs the additional cycling accident risk by a factor of 20”, according to LaClaire’s presentation.
Staff also noted that the Dunsmuir Viaduct has already been reduced to two traffic lanes since construction began on the adjoining Costco and high-rise towers downtown.
“Seeing how it has functioned so well with two lanes, we propose removing the barriers from the left side of the viaduct and moving them to the right side to create a protected lane only for cyclists,” LaClaire told council.
Five speakers, including cycling advocate Richard Campbell, spoke in favour.
Graham Anderson, an SFU student in sustainable community development, said he was “generally speaking in favour” of the proposals.
“Separated bike lanes are absolutely necessary,” he added. “They are long overdue.”
Assistant city engineer Jerry Dobrovolny said that cycling maps with all the routes clearly marked will be available for visitors to the city over the coming weeks.
“They’ve been printed and we have lots,” Dobrovolny added.
The separated bike lane will be added to the Dunsmuir Viaduct after the Olympics.
Rod Smelser
Try Bute, Jervis ... Quebec as well as the grassy areas beside the sidewalks and sidewalks when people aren't using them. When you see someone on the sidewalk, dismount out of courtesy. Don't ride on 4th, Burrard or the Viaduct. I ride 5,000 km every year and don't have any problems getting to Georgia Street.
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Good point. There are many cyclists in the downtown area who don't mind cycling at high speed within three feet of pedestrians. If you say anything, you'll be sworn at or threatened.
Rod Smelser
Riding on the sidewalk is illegal, and dangerous. The safest place is in the road where visibility is the highest.
BTW, who is paying for all of this?
You are obviously a driver who cycles little. If you did you'd understand all the crap cyclists go through, the daily dangers and life-taking risks we endure at the hands of life-taking vehicles because of our beliefs. I think all the benefits cyclists do for society- ie. lower congestion, air pollution, improve health, make our roads less dangerous- would justify rewards, not tickets.
I rode the Dunsmuir bike-lane today westbound for the first time and wonder how I'm supposed to get on it Eastbound given that Dunsmuir is one-way Westbound.
The way the bike lane is laid out will mean more traffic problems at an already busy intersection. There are two left turn lanes off of Main street on to the viaduct. Imagine the surprise of motorists when they enter the viaduct and are immediately confronted with a narrowing to one lane.
It's unfortunate that the mayor, council members and cyclists don't understand that we live in a real world where not everyone can subscribe to their collective folly.
Why don't all of you count the few cyclists on the Burrard bridge....it won't take long! And where is the money going to come from. Will Trans Link hike taxes once again to pay for this folly. It seems so easy for the few to spend everyone's money for their own benefit!
The Burrard lane averages about 4000 cyclists a day.
http://vancouver.ca/projects/burrard/statistics.htm
Do some research before you spout. Also, Translink is separate from the City of Vancouver. They won't be paying for any of it.
More importantly, I walk everywhere and have been absolutely disgusted lately by the disregard of cyclists (not all, but enough to make me take notice) to pedestrians and street lights. You can't have it both ways, cyclists. If you want part of the road, you can't barrel through red lights, barely missing pedestrians (and then yelling at us). I feel like I'm being held hostage to the cyclists downtown where I live and work.
If you're going to spend tax dollars on this, I'd like to see some more money go into actually enforcing the rules of the road. That means stopping at lights and NOT cycling on the sidewalk.
I completely agree that they should be required to have some sort of license or insurance if they're going to be causing accidents, which is happening more frequently. I know it's just a matter of time before I get hit by a biker as I cross a crosswalk.