VANCOUVER -- Not everyone is a fan of Vancouver's separated bike lanes, but a new poll has found most of the people who live in the city support the cycling infrastructure.
The Research Co. survey found seven-in-10 Vancouverites either "strongly support" or "moderately support" having separated bike lanes in their city.
A quarter of respondents told pollsters they either "strongly oppose" or "moderately oppose" the infrastructure, while five per cent said they weren't sure.
Unsurprisingly, when it comes to people who actually cycle for their daily commute, a full 90 per cent said they approve of separated lanes – but Research Co. president Mario Canseco said there was strong support across the board.
"We also see that majorities of Vancouverites who commute by taking public transit (79 per cent) and driving (69 per cent) are also in favour of having separated bike lanes," Canseco said in a news release.
People under the age of 55 and Vancouverites who live downtown or on the east side were more likely to support the lanes than older residents and people who live on the west side.
Vancouver city staff argue bike lanes keep cyclists safe from cars, both driving and parked. On Drake Street, a route in downtown Vancouver that doesn't currently have a separated bike lane, so-called "dooring" incidents account for 40 per cent of collisions involving cyclists and cars, compared to 15 per cent for the city as a whole.
Research Co. also asked whether there are too many, too few or just enough separated bike lanes in the city, and found 40 per cent believe Vancouver has just the right amount.
About one-in-five said there should be more, while 30 per cent said there are already too many. Nine per cent weren't sure.
The survey was conducted online from Nov. 12-15 among 400 adults living in Vancouver. Polls of that size have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
