Throwback Thursday is a weekly online feature where we look back at an archived issue of the Straight to rediscover old stories and stir up a little nostalgia.

With bike shops now in most corners of the city and cyclists at ever stop sign, it might be hard to imagine that Vancouver wasn’t always a bike-friendly place.

A story titled "Battle for the City Bike" by Mitchell Scott in the Straight's April 22 - 29, 1999 issue describes the city as "car-centric"; one that provided cyclists with little more than narrow sidewalks, and almost no space along busy roadways. The story profiled Christine Platt, who dared to take the 45-minute ride from her home in Deep Cove to her downtown office each and every day using less-than-ideal cycling routes. 

"People in cars hate you. Here, you get on your bike and you're making a statement," she said in ‘99, explaining that her reasons for riding were more about empowerment and fitness than being environmentally friendly. At that time, the city provided riders with only 100 kilometers of bike routes and bikeways, with only 5.4 kilometers of designated bike lanes, none of which were found in the downtown core. 

In 1999, only two percent of commuters cycled to work. Among the most risky routes for cyclists were the Lions Gate Bridge and the Stanley Park Causeway, which have since been updated to make room for riders. (The Lions Gate is now listed on the City of Vancouver's cycling map as the "most comfortable" route to cross the Burrard Inlet.)

At the time, local groups like the Downtown Cyclists Network, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, People Not Cars, and the North Shore Mountain Bike Association lobbied to have more bike routes added, and city officials found themselves obligated to complete an assessment of the cycling network.

Cycling advocate Carmen Mills believed that Vancouver had what it took to become a "cycling mecca", predicting that the city was on the verge of a "major paradigm shift as far as cycling goes".

"I think we might see more bike lanes on major streets and more cycling facilities in the downtown core," said then-city engineer Jim Hall to the Straight. Hall thought right: The assessment, titled Bicycle Plan 1999: Reviewing the Past, Planning for the Future, was the city's answer to the requests of cyclists, and resulted in the development of many of the bikeways we see today.

Fast-forward 16 years, and our population of cyclists now makes Vancouver a regional leader in green commuting. Between 2008 and 2011 alone, the number of bike trips increased by 40 percent, making cycling the city's fastest growing mode of transportation.

The expansion of routes now provides riders with more than 400 kilometers of local street bikeways, arterial and separated bike lanes, shared use lanes, and off-street pathways to make getting around the city far less daunting than it was in 1999. (Click here to see a map of the city's current bikeways.)

In addition, as part of the city's Transportation 2040 plan, improvements and additions to our current system will be implemented as part of subsequent five-year plans.

More and more Vancouverites have discovered the appeal of pedaling their way to work each day, and with route options on the rise, Carmen Mills was right in believing that our city had the potential to become a hub for those who prefer two wheels over four.

It may have been a bumpy ride, but I think it's safe to say that our once "car-centric" city has come a long, long way.