Stanley Park bike lane’s future to be decided Monday

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is set to vote on the future of Stanley Park Drive’s bike lane Monday. The board will have to choose between three options outlined by park board staff.

Recommendations for option A would be to keep the bike lane on the park’s west side. Option B would see most of the current bike lane open, while option C would be to remove almost the entirety of the bike lane, only keeping lanes in some busy sections like Brockton Point and Lumberman’s Arch.

Earlier on Sunday, a group of cycling advocates came together to express their position on the future of Stanley Park Drive’s bike lane.

The group is hoping the results will favour option B — a bike lane around the entire park that includes replacing traffic cones with a mountable, separation design that allows for emergency and operational vehicle access.

“A true Stanley Park for all would include a bike lane. It would include options for mobility, not primarily focused on a motor vehicle,” Lisa Slakov of HUB Cycling Park Board said.

Jaimie Borisoffa, a full-time wheelchair user, takes his hand cycle to get to Stanley Park from his home in Kitsilano, where he has been living for over 30 years.

Jaimie Borisoff is a Paralympic medalist and a director of MAKE+ Applied Research Team at BCIT where his research focuses on developing technology to help assist people with disabilities. (Angela Bower/ CityNews)

“I didn’t feel comfortable riding on the streets to get to Stanley Park in the past,” Borisoff said. “Ever since the city made the Beach Avenue bike lane in 2020, it’s been such an amazing opportunity to get down here now very easily, very conveniently, and most importantly, in a very safe fashion.”

Borisoff says he needs a protective bike lane designated to safely access the park which will help people with mobility restrictions like himself.

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Slakov says she finds it confusing why the board would consider removing the bike lane as an option. She says cycling isn’t just a recreational sport.

“[There are] people who don’t have enough money to own their own vehicle or who, for climate change reasons and many other good reasons prefer to not use a motor vehicle,” Slakov said.

Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby says having two lanes shared with vehicles and cyclists would be a step backward.

“Every major urban park in North America, they all have bike lanes inside their parks. And Vancouver is the only major urban park without one. So option C, and the 10 per cent option, is really just going backwards. It would be a big failure if that’s what we end up with tomorrow night,” Digby said.

The board had previously voted to remove the lanes, converting it back to a shared road between motorists and cyclists but in January parts of the lane were kept. According to a release by Digby at the time, the ABC Vancouver-controlled park board hesitated to completely eliminate the bike lane after finding out it would cost about $400,000.