[whatnext]

Originally Posted by wrenegade

Yes. As someone who uses this exact commute route (on my way from Olympic Village to West Van) I am one of the targets. However, I am not the typical "commuter" as I race, ride generally 250km+ a week during the summer and am very comfortable in traffic.



Robson westbound and Helmcken eastbound. The city is already closing Robson between Hornby and Howe to vehicle traffic and with that, vehicle traffic on the whole street will decrease. It's a perfect opportunity for a bike lane. There wouldn't be any conflicts turning either direction onto the Hornby bike lane, and the Richards & Robson intersection is far less busy than Smithe & Richards. Separately, Helmcken already is a bike route! Why not upgrade it to a AAA route. It's a far less busy street. The Chilco bike route runs through a park so I don't see a reason why the Helmcken one couldn't continue through Helmcken park, then down to Pacific and access the Cambie bridge from the loop ramps off of Marinaside/Cooperage way.

I don't see how it helps the city by taking a lane each away from two of the busiest east/west one way streets in the city. It will only increase congestion (it already has). Backing up Robson/Helmcken doesn't really affect traffic getting to/from the Cambie bridge, and the slower moving vehicle on those streets would create a much nicer feel for casual cyclists.

I am all for better cycling infrastructure in this city, but it has to be done while balancing other modes of transportation as well. I still maintain that the two largest obstacles to increasing the number of cyclists as a percentage of all commuters is 1; the mandatory helmet law, and 2; the lack of end of trip facilities. Don't get me wrong, you should probably always wear a helmet when out riding. But, if I'm biking from the west end to my office downtown and I can be on quiet streets and/or separated bike lanes the entire way, I'm not wearing a helmet. For short trips that I wouldn't get sweaty, I don't want to have to get to the office then go to the washroom and spend 10 minutes doing my hair. Call me vain, but otherwise I'd look like a 10 year old kid who just took of a batting helmet on the baseball diamond.

For those of us who have longer commutes, end of trip facilities are paramount. I only bike to work 2-3 days a week as I don't have a shower to change here. I have to leave my car overnight, ride to work, drive to a shower and drive back. It's about an hour to do the whole exercise, even when the ride to work is only 20-25 mins. I have friends who'd bike to work all of the time but work in office towers without showers and some where bikes are also banned in the building. The end of trip facilities only become more important as the weather turns in the fall/winter.

Again you make perfect sense.

Why the city prioritizes vehicle storage (parking) over actually moving people and goods is mystifying. They are too addicted to parking revenue (while at the same time being anti-car) to ever take street parking away on Robson.