The removal of the Stanley Park bike lane will last through April and will cost about 0,000, according to a staff memo.

The removal of the Stanley Park bike lane will last through April and will cost about $400,000, according to a staff memo.

by

“I am going to seriously ask my fellow ABC commissioners to reconsider removing the entire bike lane. At this rate, we won’t see a permanent bike lane for two or three summers.” —Tom Digby

The ABC party's original plan to remove a temporary pandemic-era bike path from Stanley Park over the winter and install a permanent replacement by spring is hitting a snag.
The ABC party’s original plan to remove a temporary pandemic-era bike path from Stanley Park over the winter and install a permanent replacement by spring is hitting a snag. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /png

The ABC party’s original plan to remove a temporary pandemic-era bike path from Stanley Park over the winter and install a permanent replacement by spring is hitting a snag.

A staff memo with preliminary cost estimates and a timeline for how long it will take to remove the temporary bike lane has Tom Digby, the only Green Party park board commissioner, thinking it could take much longer, even years. , before a new bike lane could be in place.

The cost to remove the temporary bike lane will be approximately $400,000 and the earliest it could be dismantled is April, according to a memo sent to Vancouver park board commissioners last week.

The park board, on which Digby is the only non-ABC commissioner, had already voted to immediately dismantle the bike path, which was started during the COVID-19 pandemic. He had asked staff for a plan to create a permanent bike lane that is less disruptive to cars and other traffic by February.

“It should be noted that regardless of the procurement and construction schedule, permanent line painting cannot be performed in humid climates or cooler temperatures, and while it is the last job in the construction sequence, it is typically not possible until April at ASAP,” wrote Donnie Rosa, general manager of the park board.

“I am going to strongly ask my fellow ABC commissioners to reconsider removing the entire bike lane,” Digby said. “At this rate, we won’t see a permanent bike path for two or three summers.”

Cyclists, e-bikers, those who use mobility devices such as hand bikes and micro-mobility devices such as e-scooters and e-unicycles, families, seniors, youth, athletes gather in Stanley Park to protest the proposed lane closure for bicycles. by the newly elected parks board, in Vancouver on November 6, 2022.
Cyclists, e-bikers, those who use mobility devices such as hand bikes and micro-mobility devices such as e-scooters and e-unicycles, families, seniors, youth, athletes gather in Stanley Park to protest the proposed lane closure for bicycles. by the newly elected parks board, in Vancouver on November 6, 2022. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /png

Digby said it will be about finding the money and that could take a long time as there are other regular demands in the budget as well.

“We could save some money by keeping parts of the interior bike lanes that aren’t causing anyone a problem. For example, the segment that goes up the hill to Prospect Point. There has never been a traffic jam there and the horse and carriage don’t go there.”

The budget includes the removal of traffic cones, road signs, concrete barriers and temporary paving. The preliminary budget includes traffic management for the entire work.

The first phase of dismantling the bike lane has already begun and will be done before December 23 and will cost $25,000.

“Approximately 27 new interim signs will be required for Phase 1 to ensure vehicles merge into a single lane for those small segments where the bike lane will remain until it can be completely removed as part of the future phase,” Rosa wrote.

The most costly part of the removal appears to be the “supervision and coordination of the removal of 830 low concrete barriers and off-site transportation and storage.”

Between $100,000 and $120,000, or about 25 percent of the budget, is allocated for this stage.

The removal will be funded by the city’s Capital Plan from accounts dedicated to permanent bicycle infrastructure and will cost between $375,000 and $425,000, according to the memo.

The cost to install the temporary bike lane in 2021 was $750,000.

[email protected]

More news, less announcements: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: the vancouver sun | The province.

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour to moderate before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications: You’ll now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there’s an update in a comment thread you follow, or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Leave a Comment