It's official: Park Board approves removal of Stanley Park bike lane

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

After much consternation and back-and-forth, nearly the entire protected bike lane that runs along Stanley Park Drive will be removed after all.

In a public meeting Monday evening, Vancouver Park Board commissioners approved Option C for the future of the controversial “temporary” bike lane, which is the option that removes most of the bike lane. At the very most, 30% of the existing 8.5-km-long, on-road bike lane will be retained.

Option C was moved by ABC commissioner Angela Haer, and approved by the ABC Vancouver majority of commissioners, with only Green commissioner Tom Digby opposed.

You might also like:

Option C carries the lowest cost of $330,000 — out of the three possible options created by Park Board staff for consideration. All of the work under this option is expected to reach completion by the end of May 2023, and it is a lower cost compared to the initial estimated cost of up to $425,000 to conduct such work on removing “all” of the bike lane.

The cost savings come from leaving the concrete bike lane materials in the area for 30% of Stanley Park Drive’s length. There are higher costs to remove the materials out of the park as the existing bike lane, although intended to be “temporary,” was installed with permanent-like features, including 830 concrete barriers that would require special machinery to load onto trucks.

As outlined by Park Board staff, Option C essentially returns Stanley Park Drive to most of its pre-pandemic traffic flow of two vehicle lanes, along with added safety features. The 30% segment of retained bike lane would be located within two segments — between Lumberman’s Arch and Old Pipeline Road, and between Second Beach Pool and Park Lane (on the east side of the bowling club and tennis courts).

However, Park Board commissioners also approved amendments by ABC commissioners directing Park Board staff to specifically restore the pre-pandemic configuration of vehicle parking at Lumberman’s Arch. With this amendment, the length of retained bike lane is likely less than 30% of the selected option — achieving ABC’s civic election promise of removing the bike lane.

“We were looking for a restoration to pre-COVID traffic and parking configuration, and we are also looking at ways to improve safety, accessibility, traffic flow, wayfinding, and aesthetics,” explained ABC commissioner Marie-Claire Howard on her party’s rationale for removing the bike lane.

“Option C is actually the only one that responds to what we were seeking, therefore it is the decision that this is the only option that satisfies what we are looking for.”

PARK BOARD APPROVED: Option C — Stanley Park Drive bike lane. (Vancouver Park Board)

During debate, Digby, who expressed support for Option A and Option B of keeping most of the bike lane, expressed some concerns suggesting that the super majority of six commissioners with the ABC party had made a decision on the matter prior to the meeting.

“I wanted to respond to commissioner Digby to express my surprise at his surprise that members of the party would have similar opinions about how to move forward,” said Howard.

Additionally, the commissioners also approved ABC amendments directing Park Board staff to report back no later than November 2023 on a new bike lane proposal for 2024 that incorporates 2023 summer usage data, stakeholder input, and park user experience. There will be more consultation and stakeholder engagement later in the year.

“We have promised a permanent, not a semi-permanent, biking infrastructure within the park, and we want to have the engagement of not just 38 stakeholders but all 50. And I think it’s really important that we go through this process, we listen to all stakeholders,” said Scott Jensen, who is the chair of the Park Board’s elected body under ABC.

“As I listen to all of the options, and I do not hear stakeholders have been spoken with and engaged with, I don’t believe it is my responsibility to hand that over to them.”

Option A and Option B would each have a higher cost of $550,000, and retain most, if not nearly all, of the bike lane — 60% and 90% of the separated bike lane would be kept for these options, respectively.

All three options improve the access and parking for tour buses, keep open the entrances and exits between Stanley Park Drive and Stanley Park Causeway (Lions Gate Bridge access) to improve vehicle access for the North Shore, and re-establish an exit out of Stanley Park by allowing vehicles to continue further east along Stanley Park Drive beyond North Lagoon Drive to reach Park Lane. Currently, the exit through North Lagoon Drive to reach West Georgia Street experiences severe backups due to the traffic congestion on West Georgia Street. As a result of the Beach Avenue bike lane, vehicles turning onto Park Lane would have to go through the West End before reaching Denman Street.

REJECTED: Option A — Stanley Park Drive bike lane. (Vancouver Park Board)

REJECTED: Option B — Stanley Park Drive bike lane. (Vancouver Park Board)

Park Board staff note that Option A and Option B of retaining most of the bike lane do not resolve the issues at the Teahouse restaurant’s parking lot, and Option B is the only option that does not provide vehicle congestion relief in the most problematic areas, including congestion relief for accessing the Vancouver Aquarium.

Traffic congestion is particularly problematic on the east side of the park due to both the operations of the Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours, and the busy periods of the Vancouver Aquarium. Businesses in the park have also asserted the bike lane’s traffic impacts have added to their challenges to recover from the pandemic’s earlier economic impacts.

Over the years, City advisory committees representing seniors and people with mobility challenges have also voiced their concerns that the bike lane’s configuration impacts how members in their groups, who may depend on a vehicle to get around, can access the park.

But Digby also suggested there are also seniors and people with mobility challenges who like to use the protected bike lane.

“There are hundreds and hundreds of people who have learned to love this bike lane. They are seniors, people with mobility challenges that use the lane because it works for them when they use hand cycles, and there are so many reasons to keep this thing,” said Digby.

“We are facing a time of climate crisis in our city, province, and in our planet. Biking is going to be one of the key solutions to it. People are anxious that there’s not going to be space for them in this city and in Stanley Park, and we can answer them with certainly Option A, definitely with Option B, and not with Option C because it eliminates hundreds and hundreds of cyclists who would otherwise use the park.”

stanley park drive bike lane january 2023

Existing design of the intersection of Stanley Park Drive and North Lost Lagoon Drive, with the Beach Avenue exit blocked off for the temporary bike lane. All three options would change this configuration, allowing vehicles to continue straight towards the West End. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

You might also like: