Review of the City of Vancouver Downtown Separated Bicycle Lanes Status Report released this July shows that cycling volumes on most established separated bike routes are flat to declining.
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Showing posts with label ALL. Show all posts
Another empty bike lane - cyclists are no-show on Burrard Bridge
Despite all the money poured by Vision Mayor Robertson and all the hype feverishly pitched by Vision Councillor Meggs there are no increases in cycling volumes on high profile bike routes.
Review of the City of Vancouver Downtown Separated Bicycle Lanes Status Report released this July shows that cycling volumes on most established separated bike routes are flat to declining.
source: City of Vancouver, Downtown Separated Bicycle Lanes Status Report, Summer 2011, Appendix A
Review of the City of Vancouver Downtown Separated Bicycle Lanes Status Report released this July shows that cycling volumes on most established separated bike routes are flat to declining.
Province provides funding for VPD traffic enforcement
Financial mismanagement of Vision City Hall was on full display last week when its police force - the Vancouver Police Department - had to be subsidized by Provincial Government so the VPD can carry out traffic enforcement.
Tailgating TransLink
TransLink executives just released their “Cycling for Everyone” plan. As part of that plan they promote dangerous tailgating as a method to improve space efficiency. The document signed by the TransLink CEO – Ian Jarvis, states that cyclists can ride so close to each other that they are separated by only half a second.
Disappearing Cyclists - City reports fewer cyclists on a popular bike route
In 5 out of six months there was a reduction in cycling. Spring months show double-digit drops in cycling exceeding 30% in April of 2010 when compared to 2009.
ICBC reports more injuries after bike lanes were installed.
Local media brings to light an ICBC report showing that Vancouver
Free education – Ask and you will be answered
Vision Councilors Heather Deal and Andrea Reimer are reported to oppose investigating injuries on the Burrard Bridge
Coun. Deal and Reimer are using the “enormous” cost of such a study as an excuse for ignoring the safety of commuters.
In fact, all it takes to find out about injuries to Vancouver commuters on the Burrard Bridge
No safety behind the wall - separated bike lanes are more dangerous
Research carried out over the years and throughout the world comes back with a simple observation – separated bike lanes are not safer, especially at intersections.
In fact, City of Helsinki advises that "two-way cycle paths [separated bike lanes] in particular should be avoided in an urban street network.”
Locally, Vision Mayor Robertson flanked by his sidekick Vision Councillor Meggs can be heard ad nauseam pushing their opinions that placing cyclists behind fixed, solid barriers is safer. They invite cycling lobbyists to their Council Meetings who speak of their SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS of feeling safer when cycling on a separated bike lane.
In fact, City of Helsinki advises that "two-way cycle paths [separated bike lanes] in particular should be avoided in an urban street network.”
Locally, Vision Mayor Robertson flanked by his sidekick Vision Councillor Meggs can be heard ad nauseam pushing their opinions that placing cyclists behind fixed, solid barriers is safer. They invite cycling lobbyists to their Council Meetings who speak of their SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS of feeling safer when cycling on a separated bike lane.
Feelings and wishful thinking aside, the OBJECTIVE FACTS are clear – separated bike lanes do not make anyone safer. Not cyclists, not pedestrians, not motorized commuters or business traffic.
Hornby street bike lanes not popular with local residents
Local papers contradict Vision propaganda that separated bike lanes are accepted in Vancouver.
Vancouver Courier writes that more than five in ten Vancouverites want bike lanes out of Hornby Street and only one in four supports the trial.
It is not surprising considering an increase in accidents on Burrard and Pacific after bicycle lanes were installed there.
Vancouver Courier writes that more than five in ten Vancouverites want bike lanes out of Hornby Street and only one in four supports the trial.
Busted: Four Vision Councillors Ignore Traffic Laws
Each day commuters can observe a full complement of common traffic violations by cyclists. What you may not know is that the local media has reported that at least four Vision Councillors are among the cyclists that have ignored or willfully disregarded these traffic regulations.
The offenders start right at the top with Vision Mayor Robertson. The mayor is reported to have ignored a red light and was lucky to escape an injury thanks to an experienced transit driver. While Mayor Robertson was reported to be “reluctant to admit wrongdoing”. The Province reported that the Mayor receive “a full 10 on a one-to-10 scale of dumb things cyclists do”.
Manufacturing Congestion - removing road and sidewalk space
Incompetence of the Vancouver City Hall is on display at the Eastbound exit to the Pacific St. on the North end of the Burrard Bridge. There you will find a lane of traffic and a sidewalk taken away between the exit ramp and the Hornby St. to accommodate a bike lane.
Best Bus
Translink puts forward a plan that is sensitive to taxpayers' concerns that expensive, new train infrastructure may not be the best at serving our transportation needs and it is worth to examine how our existing bus lines can be utilized more efficiently.
Among the obvious solutions to help transit buses negotiate city traffic is to ban bicycles from bus routes.
At the same time the City should expand the network of bicycle routes on residential streets.
Currently a single cyclist moving slower than 15 km/h is slowing down more than 50 commuters on a bus capable of traveling three times faster.
Among the obvious solutions to help transit buses negotiate city traffic is to ban bicycles from bus routes.
At the same time the City should expand the network of bicycle routes on residential streets.
Currently a single cyclist moving slower than 15 km/h is slowing down more than 50 commuters on a bus capable of traveling three times faster.
Electric Shock - electric bikes as expensive to “fill up” as a compact car
As Vancouver
Unfortunately, downtown is out of cycling range for an average Vancouver Robson Square Vancouver City Hall , while the majority of Vancouver
If good old fashioned pedal power is too onerous, a plausible alternative might seem to be the electric bike. Lured by the promise of zero emissions and no operating costs, a commuter may be tempted to hand over more than two thousand dollars for the chance to laugh at the suckers in their Honda Civics that pay 7 cents a kilometer in fuel costs (according to Yahoo Autos).
However, in reading the fine print one may suffer an electric shock. Electric bike batteries last less than 15,000 km and cost a thousand dollars to replace. Simple math tells one that a dollar for every 15 kilometers travelled on your electric bike, or 6.7 cents per kilometer, is virtually the same amount as the fuel cost to commuters in their Honda Civics. Even ignoring the fact that Civic commuters can accomodate 5 passengers, easily reach destinations more than 20 kilometers away and refuel their vehicles in minutes rather than the 4 hours every day needed to recharge an electric bike, it is obvious that there is no such thing as a free ride.
Unlike Mayor Robertson and the bobbing heads in his chamber that are blowing millions on bike lanes by removing funding from libraries, parks and essential services, a sensible person examines the costs involved.
CAUTION - Burrard and Pacific intersection is more dangerous
As Vancouverites woke up to the cheerful rumble of planters being placed on Hornby street to fulfill the dream of a segregated bike lane in the name of safety, ICBC data shows a chilling reality - that the number of accidents on the north end of the Burrard Street Bridge actually skyrocketed after the separated bike lane was installed on the bridge.
Last summer, right after the lanes were installed, was horrific. There was one accident per day, compared to one a week in the summer of 2008. The rest of the year continued to be bleak. Ahead of the holiday season, there were 33 per cent more accidents as families went shopping, attended holiday events and had to navigate their way through crowded bus and car lanes as the separated bike lanes stood largely empty. The second half of last year saw 130 accidents -- nearly twice the rate as in previous years.
In the first half of this year we still had a 38-per-cent increase in accidents compared to the previous year, with the winter months being the worst. Bus, car commuters and commercial-vehicle drivers, who are 95 per cent of the Burrard Bridge users, face more accidents on its north end while the number of cyclists crossing the bridge remains at five per cent. The dream of safety for a few has turned into a nightmare for many.
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