Adrienne Tanner writes in the Globe and Mail about Vancouver civic politics. Specifically — bike lane opposition as a traditional NPA platform issue.
She doesn’t think it’s a good idea any more.
It seems that almost everyone in the world except the NPA accepts that separated bike lanes are safer – and cities are rushing to build them.
. . . . Any party that bucks the worldwide cycling trend risks branding itself as a band of troglodytes. It’s a bit like railing against the internet: not a smart move for a party that needs to grow its base and freshen its image.
Really, it would make more sense for the NPA to pivot in favour of active transportation and bike lanes (like the DVBIA, based on their major survey of 11,000 downtown residents, workers, students and shoppers). Vision may be less dominant in the October civic election, leaving a large pro-bike constituency looking for a place to park their votes.
So now on to bigger things: affordable housing; rezoning for density; who’s running for Mayor?
George Affleck’s “can of paint” proposal for the Cambie Bridge east lane would see 2m out of the 4m lane width for 2-way bicycle traffic. The typical handlebar width is 60-65cm. Imagine passing someone travelling in the opposite direction with 20cm clearance. Even at low speeds that would be a bit nerve-wracking even for advanced cyclists, let alone for people of all ages and abilities. It’s not a solution. It would in fact degrade safety significantly.
Agree that it would degrade safety. Also, no engineer would sign off on building it. It wouldn’t meet published safety standards and would thus open the City to liability suits.
If you’re priced out of Vancouver, bike lanes become a moot point. All the NPA needs to do is paint them as fiddling while the housing market burned.
If you ditch the car maybe you can afford Vancouver. A win-win!
Cycling is way too popular in this city (and the world) for any political party to win an election by opposing it. There certainly are a lot of people in Vancouver who still live a 20th century car-only lifestyle but not enough to get elected with. They’re going to have to try something else.
Agreed. Why the NPA (who once was a huge supporter of bicycle facilities) is using being anti-bike lane as an election strategy despite it backfiring in the last three elections is beyond me. Seems like they need a new play book.
I always find the people who complain most vociferously about bike lanes don’t even live in the COV. I repeatedly have to point out that bike lanes are popular (and a vote getter) simply because the people that use them are much more likely to be Vancouver tax payers than someone sitting in a car in traffic. People who live in the COV appreciate having a viable and fun alternative to transit and a car. The bike lanes are mainly intended for people who live in the City of Vancouver.
It tends to mostly be out of towners but still some in towners. After seeing what happened in Toronto with Rob Ford getting elected by the suburbs who live in a different environment and have different needs than those downtown deciding what’s important. It was hellish to drive in Toronto during the Ford era. All his populist transportation ideas weren’t based on reality.
Isn’t it interesting to be in such changing times?