Let’s work backwards from September, 2016. Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place, almost always held in the US, will be in Vancouver. In fact, we’re having a whole Placemaking Week Sept 12-18 AND celebrating Jane’s 100th birthday (may she rest in peace).
Vancouver Bike Share (the temporary name until CycleHop announces a sponsor) launches in June, expands in July, and should be running smoothly by September. Inshallah.
Five protected bike lanes downtown are to be built and finished by the end of July, 2016. Yes, 2016. It sounds like more than it is. Some are little blips on the map.
Cambie, Smithe, Nelson, Beatty, and Richards.
Here’s my 2 cents: I applaud the speed and approach. We should be constructing multiple lanes at once. Building upon and expanding the current AAA network is key.
The couplets on Nelson and Smithe (one-way on each street in same direction as vehicles) are: on Nelson from Richards to Beatty (shouldn’t that go to the Cambie Street Bridge?) and on Smithe from the bridge to Richards. If Nelson/Smithe went as far as Hornby instead, people would have so many more options and we would almost have a complete All Ages and Abilities (AAA) link from Yaletown to the West End.
Linking the bike lane on Homer Street northbound for one more little block from Georgia to Dunsmuir’s protected bike lane would help. Surely continuing the bi-directional protected bike lane on Dunsmuir for one block west to Burrard – a major transit hub of Burrard Station – is also a priority. Don’t make me take the one-way painted bike lane the wrong way for a block! #ungapthemap
Some of the bike lanes in the plan could conflict with vehicles turning. Please be careful in the final design.
You have 24 more hours to email your comments on this project. You might as well take a look right now. View the information displays from the March 8, 2016, open house and email your comments to downtownbikenetwork@vancouver.ca by March 25.
My two cents: I also applaud the speed and approach. We need to get more done more quickly, and this is great to see, tackling several at once.
I would also like the new Nelson and Smithe bike lanes to extend to Hornby at least.
The Nelson lane in particular will be more useful when the new separated lane is built southbound on the Cambie bridge.
The drawings don’t show barriers to separate the lanes motor vehicles on Nelson and Smithe, just painted lines with a buffer zone, but City reps at the open house confirmed that there would be physical barriers, they are just moving very quickly to get this done and hadn’t detailed those out yet. How the turning movements are handled will be key.
Extending the lanes towards Gastown makes sense, and will tie in nicely to Water and other streets there when they are redone after 2017.
Agree that we need the Dunsmuir lane extended one block west to Burrard, but it really needs improvements all the way through to the Stanley Park causeway.
And while Pacific around Burrard will be much better with the intersection improvements just being started, there will still be a gap on Pacific in between Seymour and Howe, where the ramps to the Granville Bridge are.
Now to bring some focus to the Powell corridor, extending from Alexander to Wall St for connections to the Iron Worker’s Memorial Bridge.
And Kent Ave. Nice to see that one back on the 5 year plan. Looking forward to seeing the plans for it.
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Jeff, I noticed you were awake (from posting a different comment) and was hoping you would add something here. I looked on the HUB website for their points on this plan but didn’t find them under Local Committees, Vancouver.
I would have saved your last 2 paragraphs above, if your note was directed to City staff who might see this, for another time. The team working on getting these downtown bike lanes in by July is not currently focussed on those areas. 🙂 (Knowing when and who to ask helps.)
When Mayor Gregor Robertson mentioned (added?) 14th Ave and Windsor at the December Council meeting on the 5-Year-Plan, Deputy Mayor Heather Deal “added” Kent. You probably know that; FYI for others.
Indeed, rumour has it the protection is leaning away from bollards and toward planters…
The HUB Vancouver UBC Local Committee page is here, for those interested, and lists HUB priorities for 2016. Agree that Powell and Water aren’t on the City’s list at the moment, but work can happen in 2017/18 along with planned street rehabilitation, so the time to get the planning started is now.
https://bikehub.ca/vancouver-ubc
Communications from the committee to the City, MoTI, etc, are all posted on the wiki linked from the above page.
The above info on the downtown lanes has been shared with the City. We have heard bollards, dividers, and planters as possibilities for separation. All could work mid block, the intersections and turning movements will be the issue.
Kent has long been an issue. When Councillor Deal “added” Kent she was actually restoring it as it was in the 2012 plan. We appreciate it nonetheless 😉
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Thank you for the info.
Am I correct that there is no letter re: this downtown bike lanes plan on the wiki for people to refer to?
Correct. We encouraged our members to submit their thoughts to the City, and discussed the specific issues within the committee, but did not present an organizational position to the City.
If we had done so, it would have been supportive. I believe that HUB staff did do media interviews articulating that position.