A CLOSER LOOK
/BEACH BIKEWAY BATTLE
By John Streit
With the Stanley Park temporary bike lane battle in the rear-view mirror, for the time being, a new fight is emerging over the future of another stretch of repurposed transportation and transit infrastructure, the Beach Avenue Bikeway.
At the start of the pandemic, an eastbound lane of motor vehicle traffic on scenic Beach Avenue was removed from Hornby Street to Second Beach (via Stanley Park Drive through the park) by the City of Vancouver to give residents more space on the seawall to practice physical distancing while exercising or getting fresh air - part of the ‘Slow Streets’ program.
Paul Storer is the City of Vancouver’s director of transportation and says it’s been extremely popular.
“It is currently the busiest cycling route in Vancouver and had an average of 8,000 trips per day in the summer. The highest number of users was recorded on July 5 with 12,700 cycling trips.”
Cycling advocate Lucy Maloney.
That ranks the bikeway as one of the busiest in North America.
Lucy Maloney is one of those people who have embraced the new path. She’s a rising star of Vancouver cycling advocacy, thrust into the spotlight during the Stanley Park temporary bike lane debate as its number one defender. She gained a devoted following by chronicling her bike adventures and ideas on social media.
“People seem to really love positive, joyful depictions of the ordinary people who cycle on Beach Avenue and in Stanley Park, and especially dogs on bikes! It does surprise me that no matter how many videos I post of kids and seniors and other ordinary people riding bikes, anti-cycling campaigners keep saying that cyclists are all jocks.”
Graphic courtesy of City of Vancouver. Click on this and any other image to enlarge.
She finds anti-cycling voices get a lot more attention from the Vancouver media. “We have to find ways to get our views heard too. We need streets designed for people who live in and visit the West End and Stanley Park, not just streets that are convenient for people who want to drive through Downtown Vancouver as quickly as possible.”
The former environmental lawyer from Melbourne, Australia has lived in Singapore, Chile and rural Western Australia. She’s been cycling since childhood, riding to and from elementary school, high school, university, work and now as a parent.
“In my dotage, I’m planning to dye my hair purple and ride around town on an e-trike on a vast network of protected bike paths with all my senior cycling friends,” Maloney says.
CONGESTION
But not everyone appreciates the city’s space-making efforts during the pandemic, along with its unintended consequences.
Norm Mackenzie says he’s noticed an increase in congestion in the West End, especially the side streets.
“Especially Nelson and Barclay, since they are the only through streets due in part to water main construction on Haro. Traffic from the North Shore is backing up on Denman because drivers have to turn left at Davie. Many drivers are now cutting through West End side streets, particularly Nelson, which is now choked with cars, making it unpleasant for pedestrians and others.”
He feels it’s time to fully reopen Beach Avenue, especially as an influx of postal delivery trucks over the Christmas holidays adds to the traffic.
“It's not the summer anymore and all the fair-weather cyclists have gone home. I would support car-free days or weekends in the park during the summer months. Not everyone is healthy or can walk far or wait for transit to get to the park. It denied a lot of people access, as parking was limited,” Mackenzie says.
Murray Titus has lived in the West End for 23 years and agrees with Mackenzie about an uptick in traffic.
“I have no problem with making cycling a viable option but using the main vehicular routes as bikeways is not smart. Using Nelson Street as an “escape route” from the West End is now the norm. Denman is a freakin’ mess as any traffic off the Lions Gate Bridge or otherwise has to take Davie out to get to Burrard Street and or Kits. Lose the bikeway on Beach Avenue, put the bikes back on the seawall and get on with it.”
Lou Felix is also frustrated at what he calls a constant “backlog of traffic” from Georgia Street to Davie. “All the vehicles that would have used the eastbound Beach Avenue are now using Davie and Nelson Streets. With the closure, it has added to the congestion.”
ACCESSIBILITY
NPA Park Board Commissioner Tricia Barker is calling for the full reopening of Beach Avenue to motor vehicle traffic, as she actively did with Stanley Park. She believes seniors and people with disabilities are being shut-out of access to English Bay and Stanley Park due to parking lots which have closed. Barker says her efforts were invigorated after a family member ended up in a wheelchair over the summer.
“My family member has told me that until you are actually disabled you have no idea what it's like. No idea! Others have told me that before, but when I heard it from her it had a much bigger impact. I have clients in wheelchairs. I deal with compromised people every day. But a loved one going through this hits hard.”
Barker is calling for a complete restructuring of the city’s transportation planning hierarchy to include “compromised seniors and people with disabilities” in all future infrastructure decisions. In her Park Board motion, she writes “even though we have learned a great about the spread of COVID-19, the first response to facilitating corresponding changes to the city’s transportation infrastructure has not been to restore the disabled parking spots along Beach Avenue, which currently remain behind locked gates.”
Barker adds “there is no issue with getting COVID in that area. There is plenty of room for everyone to safely distance. Much more so than city sidewalks or grocery stores.”
Paul Storer with the City of Vancouver says his staff and Park Board are working together to open waterfront parking lots, and particularly accessible parking. Last month, the city wrapped up a feedback initiative about the bikeway.
“We are looking at ways to improve access for walking, cycling, and transit on Beach Avenue/Pacific Boulevard, which may include improved crosswalk markings, improving eastbound transit and motor vehicle access, and modifications to the protected space for cycling.”
He adds interim changes from the feedback the city received will help “inform the West End Waterfront Master Plan, which Vancouver City Council and the Park Board recently voted to initiate, and which would ultimately determine the long-term future of the area.”
Jeff Leigh is with HUB, the cycling advocacy group in Metro Vancouver. Leigh says that he cycled a lot when young, and got back into it around 2005, initially for fitness, but then for transportation. “We moved from the suburbs to Yaletown and found ourselves cycling (and walking) for many trips that we would have formerly done by vehicle.”
So, what does he think of the “lack of accessibility” argument?
“It is important to consider who is being referred to when accessibility is mentioned. Often it is people who need to, or choose to, drive a vehicle, and who can afford to operate one. However, focusing only on this group ignores that more trips are made by transit/cycling/walking than driving in the City of Vancouver, and have been for several years. So, we need to consider accessibility for those choosing to cycle, as an example. That means no baffle gates which block adaptive bikes and trikes, as well as trailers used to transport kids and cargo bikes. It means safe and comfortable routes, so people aren't too intimidated to travel by bike. It means lighting and safety features for those who travel after dark.”
Lucy Maloney believes both cycling advocates and anti-cycling campaigners need to listen to people with disabilities. “Some people with mobility issues can get around more easily by bike than walking or can use their scooters or adaptive cycles in bike lanes and slow streets. Some people need cars to get around, but others don’t have access to cars at all. Adaptive cycles are too expensive for most disabled people, who struggle to survive on inadequate disability benefits.”
Denman Street bumper to bumper, coming and going.
CHANGES NEEDED
Try crossing Beach Avenue at Chilco, Gilford or Bidwell Streets on a sunny Saturday afternoon and see what happens. Some cyclists don’t stop, blowing right past people. Almost everyone I spoke with believes changes are necessary to the Beach Avenue Bikeway. Jeff Leigh would like to see better marking of pedestrian crossings.
“It could be done in conjunction with more permanent dividers such as the thinner white plastic pylons in a solid base, as used on the Cambie Bridge.” He’d also like to see better signage. Lucy Maloney would also like pedestrian crossings to be better marked, “and the traffic lights to change immediately so pedestrians don’t have to wait for ages.”
Both cycling advocates can envision a restoration of two-way traffic on Beach Avenue, but with a catch. “I would like all on-street parking to be removed and two-way traffic returned so that the No. 23 bus can resume its eastbound route along Beach,” Maloney says. “Consideration of restoring two-way vehicle traffic, and the local bus, by removing parking. There is room for eastbound, westbound, parking, and a protected cycling lane. Pick any three,” Leigh adds.
BIKEWAY FUTURE
The temporary “No Stopping Anytime” parking signs on Beach Avenue are marked with the dates July 1 to December 1. So, is the bikeway done next month and cyclists back on the seawall through Sunset Beach? Paul Storer with the City says they haven’t made any decisions about the duration of the lane.
“But in the near term, it will stay open as a way to support residents during the ongoing pandemic. Given the high volume of users, there is clearly a demand for these kinds of street re-allocations. People want ways to exercise and move in a safe and physically distanced way, and if space is made available to them, they will use it.”
John Streit, a writer/producer at City News, was born and raised in and is still a resident of the West End.
Each month John takes “A Closer Look “ at one of
the controversial issues in the news.
