Vancouver cyclists could be enjoying more bike lanes by next summer as the city moves forward with plans to ease conflict between bicycles and cars, but some businesses aren't happy about it.

By this time next year, Commercial Drive, Cornwall Avenue and Point Grey Road could all see some sort of traffic-calming measure, which could include bike lanes, councillor Heather Deal told CTV News.

"There will be something along those roads that addresses the issue of a lot of cars, a lot of bikes and a lot of pedestrians. We don't know if it'll be a bike lane -- it might not be a bike lane. We might push a bike lane into an alley," Deal said.

The different options are now being considered by city engineers in an effort to ease congestion and improve safety.

Deal points out that the population of Vancouver is continually growing, and the city is trying to find ways to make sure all those new residents can get around.

"We can't build new roads. There's no space to create more space for cars and vehicles, so what we have to do is get a lot more people onto the same exact road space. That means each person has to take up less space," she said.

Darren McKay, who owns the Dream Cycle bike shop on Commercial Drive, supports the idea of a new bike lane in his neighbourhood.

"The cost of gas is ridiculous and so we need to actually look at different viable forms of transportation," he said.

"Being in the Pacific Northwest, we can ride our bikes year-round. A lot of people obviously will not ride year-round, but it just makes a lot of sense."

But some small businesses on the Drive worry that with parking at a premium, new bike lanes could cause problems.

"Commercial Drive is a narrow street. I mean if we take away these [parking] meters, and put in bicycle lanes, the businesses will deteriorate," said Angela Mainardi, officer manager at Da Vinci International Travel.

"Not everybody uses a bicycle and to continuously put in these bicycle lanes, it does make people frustrated."

But the city hopes to ease the concerns of business owners. After the separated bike lanes were put in place on Hornby Street, an independent review found there was just a moderate economic impact and fewer businesses locations were standing vacant.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Bhinder Sajan