Photo and source: The Province, taken by Nick Procaylo
If Mayor Robertson is known for one thing, it’s cycling and soon after he is long gone his legacy as Mayor of Vancouver may very well be the shift in Vancouver’s transportation priorities to cycling. First it was the Burrard Bridge bike lane, then the Dunsmuir bike lane and yesterday council unanimously approved the $3.2 million Hornby Street bike lane, much to the dismay of local businesses who are worried about the loss of parking.
On the surface the bike lane makes sense because it connects the Dunsmuir bike lane with the Burrard Bride lane. However, councils approach and perceived fast tracking of the project doesn’t sit well with many, especially the people opposed to the lane. In fact it appears this was going to happen whether the citizens liked it or not as constructions crews have already begun to work on the lane. Pretty fast for government isn’t it?
As for the city’s commitment to cycling. I like what’s going on, lets face it we don’t have the capacity to add more roads so we have to provide people with alternative options. However, I’m not quite sure of the routes chosen. On the other hand I guess they had no choice as they had to connect Burrard Street bridge riders to the downtown business core. Only time will tell if this is a step in the right direction or just wasted dollars.
The next step in Vancouver’s cycling evolution is a full fledged bike share program aka BIXI Vancouver. Mayor Gregor make that happen!
VancityBuzz.com
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