Quote:
Originally Posted by SFUVancouver
I snapped this Wednesday afternoon, just at the cusp of rush hour. Please note the gentleman at the head of the group who has his kid on board. What the photo didn't quite capture was the second kid up front in a handlebar child seat. Before the separated bicycle lanes were installed I never saw a parent bring their kids downtown by bicycle, save for leisure trips on the Seawall. What the separated bicycle lanes have essentially done is Seawall-ize two routes in the downtown core and make them safe enough for parents to even consider riding with their kids. Incidentally, this spring and summer I've begun to see kids on their own bicycles accompanying their parents on the separated bicycle routes.
 Taken by SFUVancouver, July 13th 2011. |
And that's a good thing? The downtown core (or central business district) is, above all, a place of business and commerce; a place to create economic opportunities, run a business and make a living. The city already has many places of leisure where parents and children can go cycling. There is the
actual Seawall, and there are a multitude of parks, playgrounds, riding paths and quiet residential streets. As the city's own study shows, by "seawall-izing" or "playground-izing" parts of what is supposed to be a dynamic centre of commerce, we are making it that much more difficult for some businesses to thrive and are thus reducing economic opportunity in the heart of our city.
Is this trend good for the future of Vancouver?