According to an article yesterday in the Vancouver Courier, motorists crossing the Burrard Bridge south from downtown have seen a five minute increase in their morning trip across the span to Kitsilano since a bike trial experiment began July 13th.
According to assistant city transportation engineer Jerry Dobrovolny, the number of cyclists crossing the bridge has increased 25 per cent and pedestrian traffic has remained steady.
“As an engineer, I’m not sure how I quantify or evaluate that there’s been a 25 per cent increase in cyclists using the bridge but there’s been a five minute delay in driving southbound in the morning rush hour,” he said Thursday. “Whether one outweighs the other will ultimately be council’s decision.”
An average of 4,700 cyclists per day have used the bridge during the trial, an increase of about 1,000 since the trial began July 13. Pedestrian numbers have remained steady, ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 per day. Vehicle statistics have fluctuated but remained around 60,000 per day. The highest number of vehicles recorded in the week leading up to the trial was 68,800 on July 9. The highest number recorded during the trial was 71,127 on July 30.
Interesting that the City of Vancouver has gone to the media with these preliminary stats considering staff like Dobrovolny won’t be reporting to council on the bike trial until late October.
Looks like convenient timing considering traffic volumes are expected to increase dramatically next week with students going to school and people returning to work from summer holidays.
