Vancouver Council Rejects Protected Bike Path Along Broadway Subway Corridor

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Critics blast the Vancouver city council’s decision not to install a dedicated bike lane along the Broadway corridor during construction of the new subway line.

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The council voted Thursday not to go ahead with the separate road, instead voting for what city staff describe as a “great street” design for the road.

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It will continue to provide full-time parking and loading zones for the time being and a “gradual reallocation of curb space along Broadway for a better public realm that includes wider sidewalks, public seating, patios and trees. Part of the parking and cargo will remain after the design is complete.

The ABC Vancouver-dominated council is being accused of backtracking on promises of active transport lanes in the busy corridor.

“Bike and scooter users will continue to use Broadway to do their jobs and access shops and services, but now they will face much more danger doing so,” OneCity Councilor Christine Boyle said in a statement.

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Boyle called it a reversal of incumbent ABC council members’ support for dedicated active transit lanes and a violation of the campaign promise of Mayor Ken Sim and Council members Mike Klassen and Peter Meiszner to expand bike lane infrastructure in the commercial streets.

“Today’s vote is a failure for traffic safety in Vancouver and for everyone who uses our streets to get around,” Boyle said. Instead of building safer infrastructure, Boyle said, “ABC voted to put cars first.”

A city statement claimed that the council’s decision “leaves open the option of changing more lanes of traffic to create future protected active transportation lanes for bicycles, scooters and other devices.”

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He said the city will study traffic flow and transportation needs as the Broadway Subway comes online and possibly returns to active travel lanes in the future.

Cycling advocates said they were appalled by Thursday’s decision.

cycling bucket said council rejected bike lanes “despite the climate emergency, despite the city’s goals to reduce the use of private motor vehicles, despite studies showing that active transportation lanes benefit businesses, despite of the conflicts that will escalate between walkers and micromobility users, despite overwhelming public support, despite the unknown additional cost of implementing lanes at some indeterminate time in the future rather than more cost-effectively alongside the construction of the metro, despite all the reasons to do it now”.

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The Hub said the recent decision, along with one by the Vancouver park board to remove a protected lane in Stanley Park, “signals a new direction for the city, prioritizing private motor vehicles over active modes.”

The Council said that the decision is in line with its approval last year of the 30 years Broadway Planwhich included asking staff to assess the feasibility of active transit lanes along Broadway.

“He staff report The council noted a number of challenges in delivering active transit lane infrastructure on Broadway, an important part of the region’s main road network,” the statement said.

The Broadway Plan includes a proposed future greenway on 8th Avenue east of Cambie Street, and the city noted that there are three other east-west bike routes nearby: off-Broadway along 5th and 7th Avenues, 10th Avenue and 14th Ave.

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