Park Board approves immediate removal of Stanley Park Drive bike lane

Concrete barriers on Stanley Park Drive for the temporary bike lane. (Vancouver Park Board)

The saga over the controversial bike lane on Stanley Park Drive occupying a vehicle lane reached its final crossroads on Monday evening.

As expected, Vancouver Park Board commissioners approved a member motion by ABC commissioner Angela Haer to remove the temporary bike lane that has been in place for much of the last three years.

It was a 6-1 vote, with the super majority of ABC commissioners voting in favour of the motion, and only Green Party commissioner Tom Digby voting in opposition.

The motion orders Park Board staff to immediately remove the traffic barriers of the temporary bike lane, and restore Stanley Park Drive’s pre-pandemic traffic configuration of two lanes for vehicles. This work will be done before Christmas.

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While the temporary bike lane will be dismantled, the commissioners also directed Park Board staff to plan for a new permanent bike lane design that maintains two lanes for vehicles. Park Board staff will return to the commissioners no later than early February 2023 on a plan for a new permanent bike lane under this framework, and installation will begin in the spring.

“We are excited with removing the bike lane, but we’re also excited at looking at permanent solutions to bring the bike lane back that is more permanent and not temporary, which includes accessibility for all people who want to enjoy the park,” said Haer during the public meeting ahead of the vote.

Various attempts by Digby to stall the motion’s passing and its intent were defeated by the ABC majority, including his request for a public hearing, request to retain the existing temporary bike lane and identify a multi-year phased plan for implementing the permanent replacement design, and request to restore Stanley Park Drive to its pre-pandemic configuration except for the segment from Second Beach to Park Lane.

The temporary bike lane occupying a vehicle lane on Stanley Park’s perimeter access road led to severe traffic congestion during this past peak season.

Longtime businesses within the park have also blamed the bike lane for adding to their pandemic-time financial losses, and senior and disability advocacy groups have lamented their ability to enjoy the park has been significantly impeded. They accused the previous makeup of Park Board commissioners and Park Board staff of ignoring their concerns.

During the first few months of the pandemic in 2020, the previous makeup of the Park Board initially banned vehicles from entering Stanley Park, and temporarily repurposed both vehicle lanes of Stanley Park Drive into a bike lane. Vehicles were allowed to enter the park just in time for Summer 2020, with one lane dedicated for cyclists and one lane for vehicles. The temporary bike lane that exists today has been in place since Spring 2021.

The original rationale for the bike lane on Stanley Park Drive was to provide pedestrians and cyclists with more physical distancing space, but the previous majority coalition of commissioners in the Park Board later changed their rationale to a desire to reduce vehicle traffic in the park. Another direction to Park Board staff to conduct a Stanley Park Mobility Study was intended to provide a framework for reducing vehicle traffic in the park, but the use of the study for such as purpose has now been abolished by the ABC majority.

“The taking over of one over car lane was a temporary measure during extraordinary measures. It was done during without rounds of consultation, and it was meant to be temporary. It is not extraordinary to remove that arrangement at this point,” said ABC commissioner Marie Howard.

According to Howard, the Park Board is facing a human rights lawsuit over the accessibility issues created by the temporary bike lane, and suggested the cost of removing the existing fixtures will be less than the ongoing cost of lawyers.

In a public meeting later this month before Christmas, Park Board staff will return to the commissioners with an update on their progress on decommissioning the bike lane, the cost of removing the fixtures, and the interim traffic and safety plan.

While the Stanley Park Drive bike lane will be removed, the Beach Avenue bike lane will remain in place.

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