Stanley Park sees long weekend traffic jam after bike lane removal

The bike lanes in Vancouver’s Stanley Park have begun to come down and they appear to have been replaced with tons of traffic.

Barriers forming the bike lane along Stanley Park Drive have now been removed, but park-goers over the long weekend report slow-moving traffic and clashes with cyclists.

Tricia Barker, a former Park Board commissioner, says it took 50 minutes to travel from Second Beach to the causeway exit on Saturday.

“During that time, a cyclist came up beside me and I guess he couldn’t go along the road because of the traffic jam, and he slapped my car, got his bike up on the sidewalk … and rode away,” Barker told CityNews Monday morning.

Read More: Vancouver Park Board to remove majority of Stanley Park bike lanes

Barker says if more cars are going to be driving through the park, there should be more routes for people to utilize.

“Unless we open up the Beach Avenue exit again, we’re always going to have those big lineups in and out of the park,” the ex-commissioner explained.

“If everyone has to leave at the causeway, that’s where the big traffic jam happens. It doesn’t really matter what happens inside the park with one lane or two lanes, if everyone that has to drive into the park to enjoy it, actually have to leave at the causeway … it’s impossible.”

The former politician tweeted about the experience, attaching a picture showing a long line of cars along the arterial road through the park.

Barker’s tweet garnered plenty of attention, with over 115,000 views and a slew of negative comments from cyclists aimed at the one-term commissioner.

One person wrote, “funny … I thought that removing the bike lane was going to miraculously solve all the traffic problems.”

Another user responded, “Hard to believe someone can see this and want even more cars in the park. Just inappropriate,” to Barker’s tweet.

Barker says the blowback online is nothing new.

“I’m very used to the, what I call them, the ‘bike bullies,’ coming after you if you say anything about being in a car,” the ex-commissioner said.

The bike lanes in Vancouver’s Crown jewel have been a point of contention, with the ABC Party-majority voting to remove the protected lane that had been put in place early in the pandemic. The removal of the lane will cost over $300,000.

Those in favour of the bike lanes say it is safer for cyclists who want to ride through the park, while those against point to the traffic congestion caused by the limited entry and exit points in the park.

The group HUB Cycling was at the park over the weekend protesting the removal of the bike lanes saying cyclists’ safety is at risk.

With files from Angela Bower and Mike Lloyd