Cyclists in favour of a Point Grey bikeway took to the streets Sunday to demonstrate how dangerous the street can be for those on two wheels.
The demonstration was prompted by a City of Vancouver proposal to create a bikeway on York Street and a traffic-restricted Point Grey Road. The street is currently openly shared between cars and bicycles.
Dozens of cyclists showed up in support of the proposal and to demonstrate the risks of the road. HUB Vancouver, a bike advocacy group, wants council to give the project the green light.
"Car traffic in Vancouver is going down and cycling is going up. That's part of the picture, but I'd say the much bigger picture is the reason we're not seeing a lot of cyclists down here is it's really dangerous," said Lisa Slakov with HUB.
Local resident Francois Dione agrees the route is quite dangerous and said he currently tries to avoid it.
"You make it a good bicycle path and just like the Burrard Bridge people will bicycle all year," he said.
The plan, however, has been criticized as favouring the wealthy by creating a closed community in Point Grey.
On Tuesday, councillor George Affleck said he questions whether the proposal is actually for everybody. “When you have ten thousand cars versus 400 bicycles you have to do the math on who is this for."
Council is scheduled to decide Tuesday on the proposal, which would cost up to $6 million and reroute 10,000 cars each day.
Construction could begin as early as this year if the proposal passes.
With a report by CTV British Columbia’s Penny Daflos
