A cyclist along a downtown Vancouver bike lane. Photo credit: Paul Krueger | Flickr
Will a new bike lane be good for Vancouver’s Commercial Drive? Well, that depends whom you ask.
Late last year, the city proposed a dedicated bike lane along the busy East Vancouver strip, part of a larger plan to add a dozen new bike lanes to the city over the next five years. Behind the push: a dramatic increase in the number of bike trips across Vancouver, which jumped by 16 percent last year alone.
A newly released study, however, suggests that a Commercial Drive bike lane is not without controversy. 84 percent of business and property owners surveyed do not support a separated bike lane on the Drive, according to the Commercial Drive Business Society. And 85 percent are concerned about losing parking on the street to make way for bike access.
Image from vancouverbestplaces.com
Critics point to the fact that a bike lane is already in place one block east along Victoria Drive, while a designated bikeway is in place one block west along Woodland Drive. They argue that cycling is safer and more convenient along these local side streets than along the main Commercial Drive thoroughfare.
But the new study is not without its detractors. Another local group called Streets for Everyone, which counts 22 Commercial Drive business owners among its members, has pointed out that a bike lane is needed precisely because Commercial Drive is so busy. Cyclists shuttling to and from shops and restaurants need a safe alternative to riding along the congested street. Streets for Everyone has also noted that the new survey only includes responses from 164 of the 750 businesses that belong to the Commercial Drive Business Society, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Photo credit: Paul Krueger | Flickr
Behind the debate is a larger question: Do dedicated bike lanes dampen or encourage business along city streets? The same controversy raged in 2011 when a separated bike lane was being constructed along downtown’s Hornby Street. Businesses feared that the loss of parking would hurt customer traffic. Subsequent surveys, however, showed that those fears were largely unfounded, according to Metro News. The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Society later issued a statement endorsing all forms of travel.
The city promises to continue extensive consultation about the Commercial Drive bike lane, as well as other new proposed lanes, in the months ahead.
