Councilors Lisa Muri and Betty Forbes are urging council to direct staff to remove the bike lane on the south side of East 29th Street between William Avenue and Fromme Road and return parking to the south side of East 29th Street with immediate effect.
In a proposal that will be discussed at a council meeting on January 9, Muri and Forbes ask that council consider removing the cycling lane on the south side of East 29th Street, heading east.
“Council should consider removing the cycling lane, on the south side of East 29th Street, heading east, as a reasonable option,” their proposal says. “Being that the incline on the north side of the road, heading west, is more challenging for some and should be protected. Council should consider all users in the community and to find a fair approach, rather than impacting one group over another.”
The report also calls for signage to be installed to indicate ‘share the road’ or other alternative routes on or around East 29th Street, no later than March 2023. Finally, it asks for budget discussions that include shared pathway infrastructure to align with the City of North Vancouver’s permanent bicycle route west of William Avenue.
In 2019, council votes to remove all parking on East 29th Street, much to the dismay of area residents, who felt that the change was made without any research, consultation or consideration for the residents. The report by Muri and Forbes says the community was caught off guard when the majority of Council supported the removal of all parking, and the residents’ opposition to the plan continues even today.
“The area has always been challenging to park in, with multi-family dwellings, a private school, and a care centre in the immediate vicinity. All these users continually compete for the limited parking space that is presently available on the street. It has also been observed that during the winter periods, specifically the snow months, many homeowners and tenants that have parking in the lanes are challenged to access their properties as the policy of the municipality is not to plow them.”
Their proposal continues: “It has been observed that the use of the cycling lanes on East 29th Street have been minimal at best, including during peak times. Anecdotally, travelling south from East 29th Street on to William Avenue seems to be a more direct route and should be considered in the future. The City of North Vancouver does a good job of installing bike lanes while still offering protection and solutions to cyclists.”
While urging council to vote for the change, the proposal by both also calls for discussion to look at high use cycling routes in the District to better understand alternative transportation and its priorities.
I suggest a cost-benefit study in conjunction with a survey and consultation with the residence to be conducted before any decision on this matter.
Yes and get rid of the ridiculous bike lane on (quiet)St Andrew’s that has cars parking in the middle of the road, turning it into a 1 way street! The cyclists dont like it either, never asked for this joke, it reduces their visibility at intersections.
Then there’s an entire Northbound lane on the East side of Grand Blvd dedicated to cyclists during the pandemic. It appears that just like Stanley Park where they failed, cycling lobbyists have succeeded in making that permanent. So while Northbound cars back up at 3pm daily on the West side of the Blvd., I see maybe 1 or 2 experienced cyclists who can easily ride with vehicles on the dedicated lane.
I don’t know why residents on the East side of the Blvd don’t complain about the traffic noise and fumes of backed up traffic at their doorstep while the West side gets peace & quiet. Must be a lobbyist or CNV councilor living there?
Meanwhile streets & sidewalks don’t get cleaned of leaf debris for over a year. But they send crews to high visibility areas to blow leaves around.😤
But most of the areas you mention are in the City of North Vancouver, not the District and therefore not the responsibility of the District.
We have to accept that we live in a world where a “war on cars” has been in effect for years, and a cyclist is valued as much as a hundred drivers. So we will continue to see one super-fit athlete ride up a bike lane every hour, while cars laden with children and/or groceries have to crawl down the congested single-lane road. The current narrative is always too strong to be opposed by logic. “Wars” never make sense.