Suzanne Anton is promising a moratorium on new separated bike lanes in downtown Vancouver if she is elected mayor, and says she would even consider getting rid of those already in place.
The NPA candidate says that Mayor Gregor Robertson has "destroyed" the goodwill between neighbourhoods and the municipal government by bringing in the Hornby, Dunsmuir and Burrard Bridge lanes on a trial basis.
"We need to hit the pause button on these controversial trials, re-engage neighbourhoods and businesses and regain the community consensus we enjoyed before Vision Vancouver mishandled things so badly," Anton said in a release.
Her tough tone belies the fact that she has consistently voted in favour of the bike lane trials downtown when present for the poll.
Anton says the NPA will also commission an independent review of the three lanes already in place downtown, with the goal of coming up with ways to improve safety and satisfy the concerns of neighbouring residents and businesses.
"What we can't fix, we will take out," she said.
The bike lanes have been a divisive issue for Robertson's Vision Vancouver administration. While cyclists applaud the relative safety of being separated from vehicle traffic, drivers complain that the lanes are an inconvenience and business owners claim their bottom lines have been hurt.
Robertson called Anton's promise a "flip flop" from her previous position of supporting the bike lanes, and added that he has no plans for any further separated bike lanes downtown.
"A moratorium is kind of a useless way to approach it," he said.
He added that the city is conducting a review of the current lanes to find places for improvement, and pointed out that the lanes are still in the trial phase and could be removed if they are deemed failures.
