There could be a dozen new bike lanes – including eight downtown – in the next four years as the City of Vancouver tries to keep up with a 16 per cent surge in cyclists.
Some parking spaces and one lane of traffic on each of the Granville and Cambie Street bridges could be lost as Vancouver looks for space for cyclists of all ages and abilities to feel safe on two wheels.
"We need to have that network so that people feel safe getting from point A to point B," said city councillor Heather Deal.
She said the lanes are part of the city's goal to have half of the trips taken in Vancouver be by bike, on foot, or via transit.
The routes include a new connection along Alexander Street to downtown for cyclists coming from the Powell Street overpass, a bike lane along Commercial Drive, a new lane southbound on the Cambie Street Bridge, and a two-way lane on a redesigned Granville Street Bridge.
On the downtown peninsula, new bike lanes are planned for Park Lane in Stanley Park, Bute Street, Burnaby-Drake, Smithe-Nelson, Cambie Street, and West Waterfront Road. Water Street is also marked as a planned bike lane.
Some 20 parking spots will be lost on Richards, a quarter of spots on Cambie will go, and some 20 spots will disappear on Smithe and Nelson.
Several routes will be upgraded as well so that cyclists can have more options to travel safely, which was welcomed by cyclist advocate group HUB, which noted that some bike lanes even in this bike-friendly city just end.
"Sometimes people can be dropped off in places where they don't feel comfortable," she said.
But city councillor George Affleck said he's concerned that losing traffic lanes will lead to more congestion, especially at a time when the city is exploring removing the Dunsmuir and Georgia viadicuts.
"To get rid of six lanes of bridge in five years is significant and that will have a significant impact on our city," Affleck said.
He warned that a bike lane on Commercial Drive, while there is a nearby parallel route already in place, will unnecessarily hurt retail.
"The businesses along Commercial Drive are very concerned about that," he said.
But the city's acting director of transportation, Lon LeClaire, said Commercial Drive is a hotspot for cyclist injuries because people tend to bike to stores directly, and that's where they get hit by cars.
Many of those customers on Commercial Drive may already be cyclists, LeClaire said.
"That particular neighbourhood has a very high cycling rate," he said.
There will be consultations with affected people before the exact changes are approved, LeClaire said.
