Heavy visitors by Vancouver's Stanley Park and alongside West Georgia Avenue over the Victoria Day lengthy weekend has reignited debate over a separated bike lane.
Over the weekend, automobiles may very well be seen at a standstill as drivers tried to exit the park.
The separated bike lane has been in place because the early days of the pandemic, initially to maneuver cyclists off the seawall and permit for better bodily distancing. In October the Vancouver Park Board voted to increase the momentary bike lane mission till the Stanley Park mobility research was full. The report has not but been offered. Final fall, CTV Information reported the price of the bike lane mission got here to $815,000 for public surveys, session and implementation.
The configuration of the lane by Stanley Park entails one-way visitors alongside Seaside Avenue, that means automobiles can solely exit onto Georgia Avenue, creating bottlenecks on the exit when autos are leaving throughout peak hour, and on some weekends.
David Fantastic began a petition not lengthy after the bike lane was launched, calling for it to be eliminated. It’s now attracted greater than 33,000 signatures.
After the Victoria Day lengthy weekend, Fantastic posted an replace saying the bike lane must be eliminated earlier than summer time, and the vacationers, arrive.
“I began this petition about Stanley Park as a result of I care very deeply about holding it accessible for all,” Fantastic stated, including he’s additionally a bike owner however didn't need people who find themselves much less cellular to be excluded from having fun with the park.
“I posted an replace in response to Penny Daflos posting about intense visitors jams … it goes past what I consider it's the park board needs to be doing.”
CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos tweeted an image the road of automobiles making an attempt to exit the park on Sunday after guests took benefit of the nice climate.
Biking advocate Lucy Maloney hopes the bike lane stays, arguing it gives a safer route for much less skilled cyclists and kids to benefit from the park.
Maloney additionally believes the visitors points weren't solely the results of the bike lane.
“Everybody simply determined they have been going out this weekend,” Maloney stated. “Possibly it’s not the separated bike path that is the issue, possibly it’s simply that lots of people determined to exit of their automobiles.”
The park board commissioner who moved the unique movement for development of the bike lane didn't reply to an interview request from CTV Information. However on Tuesday, Camil Dumont did tweet a hyperlink to a New York Instances article hailing the biking expertise in Vancouver.
“Good to see the Stanley Park bike lane so totally appreciated,” Dumont wrote. “Particularly so on a weekend the place I hold getting known as out on this platform by people who detest what it represents: public infrastructure that isn’t car-centric.”
Nevertheless, the article he referenced refers back to the bike lane alongside the seawall, not the bike lane by the park itself.
MAYORAL CANDIDATES WEIGH IN
Mayoral candidates John Coupar and Ken Sim gave their ideas on the problem.
NPA candidate Coupar instructed CTV Information the quantity of parking spots taken up by the bike lane quantity to round $2 million value of income that’s not coming in and is promising to reinstate Stanley Park to its authentic format if elected mayor.
“Not everybody one is in a position bodied (and) we have now a ravishing seawall bike lane,” Coupar stated. “As a mayor and council, if we have now the bulk, we’d definitely open up seashore avenue.”
Sim, mayoral candidate for Vancouver’s new ABC get together stated he would go a step additional and abolish the park board altogether if sure points can’t be mounted.
“Kits pool is closed, the facet of a constructing on the Aquatic Centre falls off, prioritizing wild coyotes over little youngsters and vacationers within the park - there are numerous points on the park board that have to be mounted they usually have to be mounted now,” Sim stated, including that if he's voted and mayor doesn’t see adjustments on the park board, he would go to the province and ask for a restructure.
“If which means eliminating the elected park board and have them report back to council, then that’s precisely what we’ll do."
Post a Comment