Well, a column that George Puil didn’t expect when he invited Sun Columnist Pete McMartin over to talk about the Point Grey Road bikeway.
He thought the plans were “incredible” — and by “incredible,” he meant incredibly bad. He thought the issue was worth “a major story.”
.
And what McMartin wrote:
Over a decade ago, Puil, as chair of TransLink, saw a problem that other politicians hadn’t, or hadn’t had the guts, or foolhardiness, to take to the public. He knew that if mass transit was to grow in Metro, a price would have to be paid, and motorists, who were enjoying huge subsidies
to use their cars, should naturally be the ones to pay it. He anticipated the future. And Puil is justifiably proud for being right when so many were wrong.
But that was just over 10 years ago.
Think how much the street landscape has changed in just that short time. Think how much we have changed in that time. Dedicated bikes routes cross the entire city. Speed bumps and traffic circles are common on residential streets. To keep invasive auto traffic at bay, there is restricted ingress and egress to and from residential neighbourhoods (the first example of which was in Shaughnessy, when Puil lived there).
And think how much the streetscape will change in another 10. Think how much it will have to change. Bikes will be part of that change.
The bike lane down Cornwall and Point Grey is a good idea.
Can we please now move on until we come to a real problem? Summer lasts only so long.
Full column here.
That is a beautifully written column, and one I am very thankful to read.
what subsidies? cars pay more than the average citizen can afford.
And yes we only have so much sun, even with global warming, we can’t expect cycling (something i have grown quite fond of this year) to become the normal of cross town commuting.
get real people.
stop with the bike favoritism, unless they are willing to pay insurance and actually learn the existing rules of the road.