Burrard Street Bridge may finally gets its bike lane
By Graeme Wood, Vancouver Sun
A public meeting that may finally mark the beginning of the end of the Burrard Street Bridge as we know it was held Saturday at Vancouver's Roundhouse Community Centre.
The City of Vancouver introduced trial plans for designated cycling lanes on the bridge, which would leave either one or two lanes of traffic temporarily closed.
There are three trials that will be tested during the spring: One lane closed westbound, one lane closed eastbound, and one lane closed in both directions to accommodate bike lanes and safer pedestrian usage.
Vision Vancouver councillor George Chow said at the open house meeting the idea of a six-lane bridge is done.
"We pretty much know the status quo isn't good enough," he said.
"This trial will give us volume data to see how we accommodate the cyclists and traffic. We really need to have the data to make an intelligent decision," he said.
After the trials, city engineers will present their findings to city council who will then decide on the bridge's fate.
Chow said the idea to build a pedestrian bridge next to the Burrard Street Bridge is out of the question, as is widening the bridge's sidewalk outwards at a cost of about $60 million.
"With the downturn in the economy money is hard to come by," he said.
However, safety upgrades for the bridge to meet new safety regulations were approved by voters in November's municipal election.
"We're now considering a $33 million safety upgrade," said Chow of a plan to improve the bridge's lighting and put barriers between traffic and pedestrians and cyclists.
Where such barriers are placed is now up to what data is found during the trial.
"Perhaps what we fear about vehicle congestion will not happen," said Chow.
Chow said a final plan for the bridge will come before the Olympics to accommodate the Games' traffic plan.
City of Vancouver transportation engineer David Rawsthorne said the city will also look at how to improve traffic at intersections at either end of the bridge.
An analysis of Granville Street Bridge traffic will also be conducted during the trials.
The meeting was marked by usual pleasantries exchanged between cyclists and car commuters.
Ron Van der Eerden, a frequent cyclist on the bridge, said he was in favour of two lanes being closed and bike lanes on either side of the bridge.
Van der Eerden was met with some opposition by car commuters who feel they would be inconvenienced.
"I'm concerned about the environment and peak oil," he said of his reasons to give bikes a better chance to cross north False Creek.
West End resident Alan Kostiuk was opposed to the lane closures.
"Taxpayer money should never be wasted on unneeded facilities requested by lobbyists that are not willing to pay user fees to finance their requests," said Kostiuk by e-mail.
"In an urban environment you can't provide everything [people] want," said Rawsthorne who has worked on the bridge's planning for seven years.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
