City engineers estimate the cost of building new bike lanes on Vancouver's Burrard Street Bridge has more than quadrupled to $63 million dollars.
That cost has some councillors wondering if it's time to resurrect the old and unpopular -- but cheaper -- idea of closing traffic lanes to make room for more bikes.
"We have to look at other options," said George Chow, a Vision Vancouver city councillor. "I know those options were looked at before but I think we should seriously look at a trial of one lane relocation."
Vancouver has long been looking at how to accommodate cars, people and bicycles on the Burrard Street Bridge.
"It's pretty bad," said Arno Schortinghuis of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. "It's very dangerous, it's very narrow. It's not good for the pedestrians, and it's not good for the cyclists."
The options have been to widen cramped sidewalks to make room for bikes, or to close vehicle lanes, pushing gridlock into downtown and Kitsilano.
A decade ago, it was estimated that widening the sidewalks would cost around $13 million. A few years later, that cost rose to $16 million, then to $20.
But Kim Carpi says that closing a lane has long proved unworkable.
"Ultimately every direction points to a thumbs-down, this isn't a good option," Capri said. "We have our staff saying no, based on some of the analysis they've done with regard to traffic studies, studies around gas prices, and also the impact of transit."
But as part of the city's capital plan, the taxpayer gets the final say -- any improvements to the bridge will have to be approved by voters.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart
