If the NPA wins a majority on city council in the November civic election, the party will not order city crews to rip up the so-called temporary separated bike lane that runs along Hornby Street from Pacific to Hastings.
NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton, who is the partys lone councillor, made the promise Tuesday after making an unrelated campaign announcement at the foot of the Hornby Street lane at Hastings. I dont want to tear out a $3 million piece of infrastructure, if I dont have to, Anton told the Courier. Thats why Im determined to look at what the problems are and see if those problems can be addressed.
Anton said she wants to fix the things that drive people crazy about the lane, including improving the flow of vehicles currently cut off by several no-right turn signs along one of downtowns major traffic arteries.
The bike lane, which is lined with protective barriers such as planters and bike racks, opened to cyclists in December 2010. The city insists the $3.2 million lane was installed on a trial basis, as were separated lanes on the Dunsmuir viaduct, Dunsmuir Street and Burrard Bridge.
Council unanimously approved the Hornby lane, only to have Anton say the next day she regretted her vote because of the speed in which city crews began construction. At the time, Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coun. Geoff Meggs called Antons sudden reversal the fastest flip-flop in the history of city council.
It was a sham process, said Anton, claiming that previous NPA administrations were responsible for adding up to 400 kilometres of non-protected lanes across the city without any controversy. Gregor Robertson puts in one bike lane and he sets up this angry dynamic between bikes and cars which has just been disastrous for bike facilities.
A city-commissioned study released in July on impacts to businesses along Hornby and Dunsmuir streets from the bike lane concluded researchers werent able to provide deeper analysis on the topic because of business owners unwillingness to cooperate.
Of 225 street-level businesses surveyed along the routes and neighbouring streets, 73 responded. Of 15 businesses claiming greater impacts because of the lanes, only four responded. And 34 commercial property owners or managers participated out of a possible 114.
Those business operators who responded believed they sustained a combined sales loss of $2.4 million because of the lanes. If the estimated loss of $2.4 million is accurate, the studys authors described the downturn as moderate and that loss is expected to decrease over time. This is relatively moderate based on industry standards and, in general, insufficient to create persistent vacancies, said the study, which was overseen by the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Economic Development Commission. The downtown is and will remain vibrant and the moderate negative impact of the lanes will diminish over time as mitigation strategies take effect.
Most recent statistics posted on the citys website show an increase in cycling trips along the Hornby bike lane, which connects the Burrard Bridge and Dunsmuir protected bike lanes.
Twitter: @Howellings
