Friday, April 8, 2011

I know you don't like me to complain about the bike lanes, but...

A while ago, I upset some people by posting a photo of an empty Dunsmuir Bike Lane beside a very congested street, that was sent to me by a number of my friends who thought I was a bit too sympathetic towards improved cycling infrastructure. However, many cyclists were upset with me for posting the photo since they thought it was unfair...that one could take a photo of any street at a particular time and it might be devoid of cars...Are we going to get rid of roads? Why pick on the bike lanes?

However, the fact is, at least up until now, the bike lanes are being used much less than most people expected, whether supporters of bike lanes or not. Moreover, they are causing havoc for many drivers, because of the reduced road width and contorted lane patterns, and also the restrictions on right hand turns. I must say, the latter is perhaps my major concern and something that definitely needs to be reviewed.

It seems that counting cyclists and complaining about bike lanes has become a new Vancouver pastime, along with discussing the price of real estate, and gloating about being able to golf year round. Perhaps that is why so many people have sent me this video over the past week. I must confess, I found myself laughing out loud...I suspect you will too.

2 comments:

Ken Ohrn said...

Not definitive, but a bit better than a single snapshot:

http://cypressdigital.zenfolio.com/p244677157

Ken Ohrn said...

Closer now to definitive:

http://danielmclaren.net/project/2011/vancouver-bike-volumes

City of Vancouver numbers from mid-January to mid-February 2011.