Speaking of letters to the Sun, there’s a highlighted one today from past-NPA councillor George Puil (one of my colleagues):
In all of my 28 years on Vancouver City Council I have never heard of a more ill conceived project then the one proposed by city council to close Point Grey road, a major artery to UBC and make various changes to street alignments in the guise of encouraging people of all ages to get around the city in “ any mode of human powered transportation including jogging/running, in-line skating etc.” I also wonder who is bankrolling these changes?
I suggest that the mayor and city council stop exaggerating the number of cyclists using these costly bike lanes and that they further the ease of all commuters to move throughout the city. I further suggest these proposed changes will create havoc in many quiet neighbourhoods as motorists will infiltrate these areas in order to avoid congestion on overloaded streets such as 4th Avenue and Broadway brought about by these changes.
GEORGE PUIL, Vancouver
Three responses:
(1) C’mon, George: in 28 years, I’m pretty sure you can come up with one or two more ill-conceived projects.
(2) You say that the city should instead “… further the ease of all commuters to move throughout the city.” Really? Any ideas you’d like to share with us on how Vancouver can make it easier for those who drive into and through our city? Road widenings? Remove diverters? Strip curb parking through business districts?
(3) Reflecting on those 28 years, can you name an initiative where the City reduced road capacity or made it more difficult to drive that did not improve quality of life? West End traffic calming? Shaughnessy diverters? Granville Mall? Corner bulges, parkettes, greenways?
Or, since so many have been approved – even bike lanes! – give us an example of where they “create havoc in many quiet neighbourhoods as motorists will infiltrate these areas in order to avoid congestion.”
Without a few specifics, you are doing the same thing you have criticized others for on the floor of Council: exaggeration and fear-mongering.
I take issue with his characterisation of Pt. Grey road as a major artery in to UBC. For cars, anyway.
As a cyclist, it’s my favourite route to get to UBC. I find that going through Jericho / Spanish Banks and up NW Marine drive is the preferred route ( for me ) to conquer the hill up to UBC.
As a driver, I never take Pt. Grey road to get to UBC.
Went to a community meeting tonight and one person suggested banning bikes – wow how out of touch can you be when cities all over the world understand the future direction is green – Vancouver needs to be a part of that and support better safety for all users of this magnificent city, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers and everyone else – doing what we love to do – get outside and enjoy all the parks, beaches and vistas. Go team Green – and lets share the space with everyone in a good way.
In my experience while I worked as a planner for the City of Vancouver, such comments were typical of George! I recall he was quite involved in opposing any changes to downtown Granville Street. Jurassic Park is still with us even though I’ve heard some say there can’t be too much DNA left from that era.
George, perhaps it would be more enlightening if you stated where you live and how you feel the proposed bike lane will affect you personally.