Plans for Hadden Park bike path cancelled
Posted February 17, 2014 7:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Vancouver Park Board has given up all plans to build a separated bike lane through a controversial stretch of Kits Beach.
The Board’s decision was a result of major public outcry.
Park Board Commisioner Constance Barnes says the decision was made easier by the volume of people voicing concerns about the narrow strip of grass on Kits Point.
Megan Carvell Davis is the local historian who brought the lawsuit against the city.
She argues that the 1928 deed gifting the park to the city from Harvey Hadden doesn’t allow for a paved bike lane in the middle of it.
She also credits the public’s persistence. “I was just one person so they swatted me away like a fly. But now they’ve heard from a whole bunch of people and they’ve decided not to pursue the lawsuit. That’s amazing. I’m practically speechless.”
“I’ve been trying for 10 years to get the Park Board to acknowledge the deed and the terms of the deed and just abide by them. I didn’t have any plan for what the Park Board should do except abide by the deed, they have a legal obligation,” she adds.
Barnes says the Board took the public outcry seriously. “We did hear loud and clear that people were very concerned going forward with the bike path so we put a stop to any digging or ashpalt. And I think really what we’re going to do is, we need to look at the deed and we need to be very respectful of the land that was gifted to the city.”
The Board’s staff will now look at other ways to deal with the safety concerns that prompted the bike lane in the first place, which includes keeping cyclists and pedestrians separated.
