Tesla parked in Vancouver bike lane prompts debate over signage

A Tesla is seen parking in a Vancouver bike lane on Dunsmuir Street. (Reddit/EarwigBedworm)

Are the parking signs placed beside some Vancouver bike lanes leaving drivers confused?

That was one of the questions debated online over the Easter weekend after a Reddit user shared a picture of a Tesla illegally parked in a bike lane downtown.

The picture was taken near Dunsmuir and Beatty streets, where an intermittent line of planters separates cyclists from cars.

For people driving west on Dunsmuir, there are parking spaces to the left of the planters – but the parking signs and meters are located on the sidewalk, across the bike lane to the right of the planters.

"I see this in every city that has this type of parking. Cities could do a much better job with signage content and location," one Reddit user commented on the Tesla picture.

"The way this is designed, it's almost as if the city wants cars to park here," wrote another.

Not only is it illegal to park in Vancouver's bike lanes, drivers have not even been allowed to stop in them – to drop off a passenger or a package, for instance – since 2019. That's when council updated the city's Street and Traffic Bylaw to ban stopping in "any portion of a street that is designated for use by persons on bicycles."

There have been 71 tickets for stopping in a marked bike lane over the last three months, according to the city. The infractions are most common along Carrall Street between Hastings and Cordova streets.

But years after the bylaw was updated, lawyer Kyla Lee, who deals with a variety of driving infractions, told CTV News she still hears from many motorists who are confused while trying to access legal parking spots adjacent to bike lanes.

"I think it's a failure of the city's engineering to create the bike lanes the way they are, without having them physically separated from the roadway," said Lee, who works with B.C. Driving Lawyers and Acumen Law.

In a statement, the City of Vancouver pointed out that the Dunsmuir bike lane is "highlighted with green paint, signage and bike stencils on the pavement."

None of the dozens of tickets issued for stopping in a bike lane this year have been given out at that particular location, the city added, which suggests "the majority of drivers seem to understand there is a bike lane where the Tesla is parked."

Lee noted there are some gaps between the planters on Dunsmuir wide enough for a driver to easily manoeuver into the bike lane – including where the Tesla parked in the picture.

"If I were the one to design it, I would make the planters a solid line so you can't ever get a car into the bike lane. I think that would be a better course of action," Lee said.

While hiring a lawyer is generally more expensive than paying a basic parking ticket, Lee said a driver might want to consider getting legal help if charged with a more serious Motor Vehicle Act offence – which could happen if someone were to leave their vehicle in a bike lane.

"If the police were feeling particularly vindictive toward you, they could theoretically ticket you for disobeying a traffic control device, which does have two ICBC penalty points associated with it," she said. "That could have insurance consequences, especially if you have a driving record."