Surprise motion to backtrack on Stanley Park bike lane removal coming soon, says park board commissioner

The Vancouver Park Board is poised to backtrack on the removal of the Stanley Park Drive bike lane, according to the board's sole Green Party member.

Speaking ahead of the park board’s meeting Monday night, commissioner Tom Digby told CTV News that his six ABC Vancouver counterparts plan to table a surprise motion to preserve parts of the pandemic-era cycling route.

“They want to retain parts of the current, existing bike lane because they’ve learned it actually enhances safety and enhances traffic flow,” said Digby, who was the only commissioner to vote against the bike-lane removal last month.

A motion without notice requires the consent of everyone on the board, which puts Digby in a rare position of power as the only commissioner who isn’t with ABC.

“Normally, I’m one of seven and they don’t need me, but they need me now and I’m going to support the motion because it was a dumb idea to take out the bike lane.”

According to a December memo circulated to commissioners, the removal process was expected to cost between $375,000 and $425,000.

“They didn’t know the cost,” Digby said, referring to his ABC counterparts. “So we’re anxiously looking for ways to reduce that cost and the easiest way to do that is to preserve certain sections of the bike lane that are safe and in fact improve traffic flow inside the park.”

Removing the lane was a campaign promise by many ABC Vancouver candidates. The original motion that passed in December directed staff to begin exploring how to create a permanent bike lane while maintaining two lanes of traffic for motor vehicles.

Monday night’s park board meeting will be livestreamed and publically available. Digby estimates the bike lane motion will be tabled around 7:30 p.m.