There’s a bunch of news and happenings around our community these days relating to cycling. Here are a few items:
Traffic circle removal
Last week, the Georgia Straight ran an article about how the City was going to remove the traffic circle at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Pine Streeet. This traffic circle was identified in the ICBC collision data as being one of the most dangerous for cyclists. In fact, in the seven years prior to the traffic circle being installed, there were zero reported bike/motorist collisions, but in the seven years following there were 17 reported collisions.
The Straight published the article on May 4th. The city began removing the traffic circle on the 6th, and it’s entirely gone now.
Be careful going through this intersection, though. Of the 12 north/south vehicles I saw while taking this photo (above), only 2 bothered to stop at the stop sign.
Hopefully the city has seen the light, and read the various studies that show that traffic circles make the bike routes more dangerous and should be removed. And hopefully we won’t be seeing new traffic circles on the upcoming improvements to bike routes around the city.
Cornwall / Pt Grey Road
Speaking of improvements to bike routes, the next round of consultations for the Cornwall Ave/Pt. Grey Road improvements is scheduled to take place in the next two weeks. At these meetings, the design proposals will be presented by staff and the public will have a chance to provide feedback.
Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Staff presentation: 7:45pm
Location: Henry Hudson Elementary School (Gym), 1551 Cypress Street
Date: Saturday, May 25, 2013
Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
Staff presentation: 10:45am and 12:45pm
Location: Bayview Elementary School (Gym), 2251 Collingwood Street
Date: Monday, May 27, 2013
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Staff presentation: 4:45pm
Location: Kitsilano Public Library (Basement), 2425 Macdonald Street
Changes coming to False Creek Bridges
City councillor Geoff Meggs posted about city staff’s report on improvements to the Burrard St, Granville St, and Cambie St bridges. City staff recommends putting in a permanent barrier on the Burrard Bridge (instead of the temporary concrete barriers currently in place) and bringing pedestrians back to the east side of the bridge. I’m not sure where the northbound cyclists will go, as the east side sidewalk is currently not wide enough to safely support cyclists and pedestrians. Both the north and south intersections will be improved in an attempt to reduce the number of bike/motorist collisions.
Improvements to the under-capacity Granville Street Bridge include removing two lanes of motor vehicle traffic and replacing them with a mix-mode greenway. You may have seen illustrations showing the centre two lanes with a greenway. Improvements to the Cambie Street Bridge will focus on improving access to the west-side sidewalk for cyclists, as well as approaches and exits on that side of the bridge.
You can view the whole report here (pdf).
Provincial Election
There’s a provincial election on Tuesday, May 14th! The British Columbia Cycling Coalition has been running a “Bike To Vote” campaign over the past few weeks:
Bike to Vote is a positive and direct way to put your values into action, to show politicians what you care about and to create a better future for BC.
The BCCC is encouraging people to bike to their voting place, take a photo with the Bike To Vote sign, and share it on social media.
In terms of the provincial parties’ support of cycling, there’s not much to write about. It’s apparent that it’s not a priority for any of the parties, despite the benefits of cycling on both transportation and health matters — both areas of provincial responsibility. The Green Party, unsurprisingly, tends to be more vocal about supporting cycling. David Eby, the local NDP candidate, is also a visible supporter of cycling in Vancouver, and participated in the UBC AMS’ Bike to Vote ride last week.
Great to see @Dave_Eby @duanenickull @itootill at #biketovote Ride! pic.twitter.com/xIAgus7OJW
— Richard Campbell (@wrychrd) May 11, 2013
Bike to Work and School
HUB (formerly the VACC) is once again promoting both Bike to Work Week and Bike to School Week. This year, BTWW and BTSW occurs during the week of May 27th-31st. There are various incentives and prizes for participating. Check to see if your school or workplace is doing anything during these events, and if not, perhaps you can initiate something yourself!
Visit Bike To Work Week and Bike To School Week at HUB.
Last modified: May 13, 2013
