DNV council approves West Queens cycling path, reducing parking

In a narrow 4-3 vote at their December 1 meeting, District of North Vancouver council approved plans to accelerate construction of one-way cycling facilities along West Queens Road, a decision that will eliminate on-street parking spaces near Delbrook Community Recreation Centre.

The project, championed by Councillor Catherine Pope, would create eastbound and westbound bike paths connecting Delbrook Recreation Centre to Edgemont Village. While originally scheduled for 2028-2029, the council voted to fast-track the project to take advantage of TransLink’s rapid implementation funding program, which could cover up to 100% of construction costs estimated at $700,000-$900,000.

“Those kids have all grown up being driven to the community center,” Pope said, referencing children who participated in a 2017 ride with former Mayor Richard Walton to promote cycling infrastructure. “That was eight years ago, and those kids have all grown up being driven to the community center… because that plan never happened. The transportation Master Plan identifies Queens as a critical east-west link, and TransLink calls it a regionally important future cycling route.”

DNV official Ehab Taha told council that West Queens Road has been identified as a proposed cycling route since at least 1999. The arterial road carries 11,000 vehicles per day, making physical separation between cyclists and traffic essential for safety, he explained.

The design will retain all existing vehicle travel lanes, including auxiliary turning lanes at intersections. “What I definitely don’t want to be removing [is] travel lanes on route to Highway One, because I think that would not be successful,” Taha said. However, the proposal drew sharp criticism from councillors concerned about parking impacts at the already congested recreation centre.

Parking Numbers Disputed

The number of parking spaces to be removed became a central point of contention during the meeting, with estimates ranging from 20 to 70 spaces depending on how they were counted.

Officials explained that 70 spaces represent the “theoretical maximum” along the entire corridor from Edgemont Village to Delbrook, measured from fire hydrants to driveways according to legal parking regulations. However, he acknowledged this number assumes perfect parking behaviour and that “in reality, you might have less than that.”

Of those 70 theoretical spaces, approximately 40 are located in the two-block area between Del Rio Drive and Delbrook Avenue (where Westview turns into Delbrook) – the section immediately adjacent to the recreation centre where parking demand is highest. Taha noted that west of the recreation centre toward Edgemont, “you have a number of driveways and bus stops, and parking is already restricted on the south side of the street.”

Councillor Pope strongly disputed the higher figures, calling them “wildly exaggerated.” She noted that the area west of the community centre toward Edgemont “is almost all a no-parking zone already. People can’t park there.”

Looking at the remaining parkable area east of the recreation centre, Pope estimated only about 20 vehicles typically park there on any given day. “It’s like 10 on one side, 10 on the other,” she said. “So realistically, we’re actually talking about 20 spots.”

Mayor Mike Little disagreed with Pope’s assessment. Looking at photos in the council report, he observed: “I can count 20 just in half of one block here from the tennis courts to the corner. So it’s a lot more than that.” When pressed by Councillor Betty Forbes to clarify, Taha confirmed: “The 40 that was quoted [was for] between Del Rio and Delbrook… The 70 is the total extent.”

Recreation Centre Concerns

Councillor Lisa Muri raised concerns about the impact on Delbrook Recreation Centre, which she said was already built with insufficient parking.

“We cannot make [decisions] in silos,” Muri said. “The Rec Centre was built with inadequate parking because the concept was it was a neighborhood rec facility, and everyone would walk or ride their bike, and it is overflowing with cars at any given point in the day, including insufficient parking for staff, upwards of 40 cars needing accommodation to run the facility at any given time.”

Muri noted that the facility is adding four to six new pickleball courts, which will increase parking demand. She questioned why the recreation commission wasn’t consulted on the impacts and suggested alternative routes, such as 29th Street, should have been explored.

“I just fundamentally have a problem with taking away one thing for the use of another,” Muri said. “It can’t be about, well, if we build a bike lane, then no one will drive anymore, we won’t need to use those parking spots because everybody will ride a bike, because that’s not going to happen. We know that already.”

North Vancouver Recreation Commission manager Heather Turner confirmed that staff have not had detailed conversations about the parking impacts. She noted that administrative offices at Delbrook employ between 40-45 staff daily, with more than 50% requiring vehicles either due to distance or job duties.

Turner said staff have been asked not to park in the parkade or surface lots closest to the building to leave those for public use. “Most staff who have to drive either because of distance or because they need their vehicle to perform their duties, either park in the two blocks that we’re speaking of, some park on the angled parking by Delbrook Park, some park on neighborhood streets and some park in the lower parking lot currently,” she said.

Turner added that if the project proceeds, “we just need to figure out what other options are there. We need to talk about drop off for preschoolers and for people with mobility issues.”

A new 12-space gravel parking lot on the eastern edge of the recreation centre could help offset some losses. However, Director of Engineering Peter Cohen explained the lot hasn’t opened yet because staff wanted council direction before finalizing the design of the curb letdown entrance, which would be configured differently depending on whether bike lanes are installed.

Pope suggested that staff could use parking at nearby Hollybrook seniors facility, “just one more block away,” which has “plenty of parking” including spaces in front that are “never used. It’s completely empty.”

Mode Shift Skepticism

Mayor Mike Little expressed skepticism about the project’s promised benefits, citing the lack of mode shift despite decades of cycling infrastructure investment in the district.

“I’m constantly told and pressured and berated that… your investment in cycling dollars will yield tons and tons of shifted trips that are no longer taking place in cars,” Little said. “Despite decades of investment in our transportation infrastructure supporting cycling throughout our community, connecting up town centers, providing separated, dedicated spaces like on the parkway, our mode shift hasn’t moved one bit.”

Little noted he lives on the parkway and has observed the upgraded infrastructure there. “You could fire a cannon off on it, and you wouldn’t hit anyone on that space. It’s a massive infrastructure of land and commitment of our infrastructure dollars. And very, very few people use it.”

He added: “I’m struggling to consider the removal of 70 parking spots from the general area, 40 that support the Rec Center… I kind of think that we should just leave it in the plan the way it was that we were going to look at it by 2028.”

Councillor Betty Forbes also raised concerns about the rushed timeline and lack of consultation with the recreation commission. Under TransLink’s rapid implementation program, construction must be completed within 12 months of receiving funding, limiting public engagement to an “informed” rather than “engaged” level.

“What’s the point in trying to plan things out, put things into budget years and do your due diligence that way, if you’re just going to go look, this is really important now?” Forbes said. “It just isn’t a financial good way to plan.”

Forbes also questioned the certainty of TransLink funding, noting pressure on the program from municipalities across the region seeking active transportation funding. “I don’t expect that we’re going to get anywhere near 100%,” she said.

Mayor Little, who chairs TransLink’s Joint Finance Committee, acknowledged funding pressures. He noted that beyond 2026, TransLink received “half as much money from the province as we were expecting, and half as much money as we were promised from the federal government.” However, he said the capital programs are expected to continue with modified amounts.

Supporters: Seizing an Opportunity

Councillor Jordan Back countered concerns about mode shift, arguing that the district’s fragmented cycling network is the problem, not the investments themselves.

“The issue isn’t that the investments aren’t working, it’s that we have this fragmented network that’s delivering fragmented results,” Back said. “If we want to see mode share change, slowing down is not what’s going to get us there—completing the network will be.”

Back noted the district implemented a similar rapid implementation bike facility along Mount Seymour Parkway using external funding, “and that corridor is now a much safer, more predictable route for riders of all ages.”

“I see Queens road as a next logical step, especially when we’re talking about independence for youth, a safer route for seniors, more choices for families,” Back said.

Councillor Jim Hanson said he would support the motion on the condition that TransLink provides the promised funding. “Assuming that this can be funded by the TransLink… rapid implementation plan, I believe the benefits outweigh the detriment,” he said, adding that he believed parking issues could be addressed through consultation with the recreation commission.

Pope emphasized safety concerns, calling the current section of West Queens Road “extremely dangerous because it’s not wide enough to share, and riders are forced to suddenly merge into the same lane as fast moving cars and trucks.”

She cited a letter from resident Kelsey Hemphill, who wrote: “I have two kids under five, and I often cycle with them in a trailer on my bike. My son is starting to ride his own bike, but the only way to be safe along that part getting to the community center is to walk the bikes and the trailer on the sidewalk.”

Pope urged councillors to “please consider what each option would feel like to you were it your own child riding their own bike to Delbrook.”

She also thanked staff for recommending the project be extended beyond her original motion to include the full connection to Edgemont Village, “that will ensure there will be greater uptake and safety for active transportation users.”

Design Options Considered

Staff presented two design options: one-way cycling facilities (separate eastbound and westbound paths on each side of the street) and a two-way cycling facility (both directions on the south side only).

Taha said one-way facilities are preferred based on national and provincial standards because “they are safer as movement patterns are more predictable when a cyclist travels in the same direction of vehicle traffic.” They also offer better access to destinations on both sides of the street.

The primary drawback of one-way facilities is the removal of on-street parking on both sides of the street.

Two-way facilities would preserve parking on one side but “introduce several challenges, including increased likelihood of collision, especially at intersections, as drivers might not anticipate cyclists approaching in the contraflow direction,” Taha explained. The design would also require reducing vehicle travel lanes and bike paths to “absolute minimum allowable dimensions, creating a less comfortable experience for all users.”

Staff conducted parking utilization surveys that found usage varied depending on programs that day, with maximum utilization around 60-65% near the park and recreation centre.

Next Steps

District staff have already submitted a preliminary grant application to TransLink, which can be withdrawn until January 2026. TransLink typically announces funding decisions in March or April.

Cohen clarified that if council approved the project but TransLink did not provide full or majority funding, staff would return to council for further direction before proceeding.

Taha noted that regardless of the funding outcome, design work completed now could be used for a future application or for the already-planned 2028 project. However, he warned of reputational risks with TransLink if the district withdraws after committing to proceed.

“What I wouldn’t want to see happen is that we decide, and we, in all good faith, tell our partners that we will be proceeding forward in 2026 but only to [withdraw],” he said. “Somebody else in the region has not gotten that funding, and it makes us look bad.”

If TransLink approves funding, construction would likely begin in summer 2026 and be completed by May 2027.

Councillor Herman Mah, who initially expressed reservations about the rushed timeline, ultimately voted in favor after clarifying that staff would conduct consultation with the recreation commission and other stakeholders during the design phase.

Voting in favour were councillors Pope, Back, Hanson and Mah. Opposed were Mayor Little and councillors Muri and Forbes.