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Traffic alert: Dunsmuir bike lane means you need a new path downtown

May 31st, 2010 · 78 Comments

As I discovered yesterday, when I made my Sunday morning run to the YWCA, the new Dunsmuir bike lane is going to do more than just turn over a lane of road space to bikes. It is also being accompanied by new traffic regulations.

So far, there are new signs at both Seymour and Hornby prohibiting right-hand turns off Dunsmuir, something I noticed as I was halfway through my (now illegal turn) onto Hornby.

That means anyone wanting to go north on these streets will now have to jog over to Georgia at some point from Dunsmuir in order to take that route north. (DON’T turn on Beatty, because when you get to Georgia, you will discover it is one-way going east at that point. Cambie and beyond is okay.)

So far, there do not appear to be any no left-turn signs at any of the other north-running streets. At Beatty, there’s a warning to yield to cyclists before turning. Cambie and Homer are not signed with anything.

All very confusing and reinforces my sense that this bike lane is going to require much more serious adjustment for people than the Burrard Bridge lane did.

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  • A. G. Tsakumis

    Of course spartikus takes time to remove his nose from Vision’s bum to take the time to compare the poverty of China with the massive wealth of the Vancouver Asian immigrant.

    Idiocy abounds, but I expect nothing more from doctrinaire social change fascists.

  • spartikus

    Ah…he was bit clumsy in the execution, but I think we’re beginning to see the misty outline of Alex’s real concern: The rich don’t ride bicycles.

    And who in our society needs defending more than the rich?

    P.S. Regarding the the massive wealth of the Vancouver Asian immigrant….

    In 2000, the average income from all sources for Canadians of Chinese origin aged 15 and over was about $25,000, compared to almost $30,000 for all Canadian adults.

  • Bill Lee

    [ Pink Pearl has been closed for many months after a fire, but then Alex Tsakumis might not venture to the East Side ]

    Meanwhile, attempts at finding if income is associated with commuting cycling….

    American Journal of Preventive Medicine
    Volume 32, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 52-58
    ———————————————————
    Utilitarian Bicycling: A Multilevel Analysis of Climate and Personal Influences
    Meghan Winters MSc, Melissa C. Friesen MSc, Mieke Koehoorn PhD, and Kay Teschke PhD
    ———-
    [ To original journal PDF version 297 k
    http://preview.tinyurl.com/2eeflac
    but more easily read where archived at UBC in PDF form at http://www.cher.ubc.ca/cyclingincities/pdf/winters2007.pdf

    or throw the title “Utilitarian Bicycling: A Multilevel Analysis of…”
    into google, yahoo, or bing.com etc. and see the multiple references there.

    e.g. shows up in Sustrans bibliography
    http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/active-travel/139/the-evidence/walking-and-cycling-interventions

    see headings 1.2.3 and 1.3, 3.2 below in http://www.bypad.org/docs/Annex_I_literature_search_bicycle_use_and_influencing_factors.pdf

    and so on and so on and etc.
    =========

    …[ in Canada ] “Higher household incomes were independently associated with a lower likelihood of utilitarian cycling in the general population, whereas recent Toronto and Vancouver surveys instead reported a higher likelihood of cycling with increasing household income.” ^18 and ^21
    —
    Footnote 18
    Decima Research, City of Toronto 1999 cycling study: final report on quantitative research results, Decima Research Inc, Toronto (2000), p. 74.

    Footnotes 21
    Translink, Cycling performance scorecard, Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, Vancouver (2004).

    …”In another North American survey, the average commuter cyclist was characterized as a male professional with an income of more than $45,000.^22 The authors acknowledged the potential for participation bias because the questionnaire was distributed via e-mail listserves, newsletters, and magazines. The U.S. National Household Travel Survey reported no association between income and cycling modal share ^15; its design was representative of the population, and the response rate was 41%.^23 ”

    footnote 15
    15 J. Pucher and J.L. Renne, Socioeconomics of urban travel: evidence from the 2001 NHTS, Transport Q 57 (2003), pp. 47–77.

    footnote 22
    22 W.E. Moritz, Survey of North American bicycle commuters: design and aggregate results, Transport Res Rec 1578 (1997), pp. 91–101. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (12)

    footnote 23
    D. Collia, J. Sharp and L. Giesbrecht, The 2001 National Household Travel Survey: a look into the travel patterns of older Americans, J Safety Res 34 (2003), pp. 461–470. Article | PDF (176 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (38)23

    ======
    see abstract of http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/bitstream/1892/10811/1/etd4477.pdf

  • Bill Lee

    Speaking of a bike vs Porsche sports car in comment 25 above,

    Why not both?

    http://standardmadness.com/featured/poor-mans-porsche-911-gt3-rs

    (Side by side recumbent with Porsche shell fairing.)

  • Dave Ball

    Y’all seem hell-bent on changing this city into your particular visions. But most of us long time residents would much rather none of these changes – note that it’s the 95% of the city residents who just struggle at their day to day lives paying bills and raising families who never get represented in these types of forums.
    Did ya stop to think that maybe we actually like the city, don’t want y’all to change it, don’t want y’all to tax the living hell out of us, don’t want devs to densify the city even more, we’re happy with what have, would have been even happier if y’all hadn’t screwed it up with your ‘planned congestion’ – thru blocking roads and overdensifying . Who the hell are you all to treat our freakin lives and city as some sort of petrie dish experiment in social planning.
    Why doncha all – – lefties, developers, and all the rest of you single interest profiteers buzz off and go fix Detroit or somewhere that really needs help.
    I’ll get the door for ya.

  • Sean Bickerton

    While it would be the more politic thing to do, I can ‘t allow a comment by an earlier poster to stand unchallenged.

    He states: “Frances has also used the phrase “sandwich generation” and it is important to recognize this as well. My mother is 65 years old, and has owned a car (albeit a small one) her entire life. I’m not going to get her on a bike for any trip, ever.

    “I can’t define the age of the sandwich generation, but I know that we need to focus on the NEXT generation while waiting for the one that will never change too, frankly, die.

    “I say that bluntly because I think it’s important to be direct.”

    As do I.

    I think it’s very important to be direct in stating your inference that the answer to any problem is to be found in the death of an entire generation of the Canadians who built the city you now bicycle around in is offensive to the extreme.

    If you’d really like to do something to help the environment, I’d suggest giving up red meat, given that the cattle industry is responsible for far more carbon emissions – 18% – then the entire transportation sector.

    And leave Frances alone – she does the hard work necessary to provide the platform for your ludicrous moralizing. We’re all trying to do the right thing and we all do what we need to in order to get by. But of all people, Frances is one trying mightily to move things in a positive direction.

  • Chris Keam

    “I think it’s very important to be direct in stating your inference that the answer to any problem is to be found in the death of an entire generation of the Canadians who built the city you now bicycle around in is offensive to the extreme. ”

    I didn’t read any moralizing into Bill’s statement about concentrating on kids as the low-hanging fruit when it comes to the sustainable transportation ‘space’. Not only is it realistic in not trying to force people into changing the habits of a lifetime, it’s more cost-efficient as well. The idea that our elders ‘built this city’ is frankly somewhat offensive too Sean. You seem to presuppose that today’s kids wouldn’t do the same thing if born 65 years earlier, or that some of us (yourself included) aren’t engaged in the exact same process today (of building the city to reflect our generation). The reality is that as the people who grew up driving become a smaller portion of the population, bringing about improvements to cycling, transit, and walking facilities will meet with less and less public resistance. Surely you know and agree with this?

  • Ron Yamauchi

    Frances, as semi-neighbours (I saw you at a community meeting once), you know about the new bike intersection light at the corner on 10th. Well, my wife agitated for that after getting hit by a car trying to cross Fraser. I definitely support this city, reacting to the needs of people over cars. Although this insufferable Alex person will surely find that a symptom of communism.

    I’ve also been a cycle commuter since the last bus strike. In those nine years, I have seen the city do more and more for us and I am appreciative.

    Cycling is not a class issue or social engineering issue at all. It appeals directly to my selfishness. It helps keep me fit, it saves me lots of money, and it means I don’t have to show up to work motion-sick from a hot, germy bus.

    Bikes: not just for commies!

  • Bill Smolick

    > Not only is it realistic in not trying to force people into changing the habits
    > of a lifetime, it’s more cost-efficient as well.

    Thanks Chris. That was my point, stated (as I noted) bluntly for effect. I used my mother as an example for a reason: I don’t want her to die, trust me (I love my Ma, and y’all should too…well, not mine…but your own,) but I’m not trying to get her on a bike.

    Now…the real reason I dropped in here wasn’t that, it was because yesterday I used the Dunsmuir Viaduct Bike Lane for the first time. I have to say that it’s NICE, but it was *very unnatural* for me to head to the North side of the road to ride Eastbound ho into the sunset. I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to cross to get there.

    I noticed a variety of signals and lights that were still partially covered, so I presume the city is in progress with installing better signage and signals, and trust that this will all get worked out.

  • Bill Lee

    @Bill Smolick // Jun 5, 2010 at 10:03 am Comment 59 above.

    Yes, we should we hopscotch on our right leg on the Dunsmuir Bridge. It’s unnatural to use only one foot.

    Close the Georgia Street viaduct for a new bike lane going east!

    And are there going to be traffic counters on the Dunsmuir Viaduct and its city route to see if traffic increases, decreases, or turns left at Beatty?

  • Bill Smolick

    Chris will know better than I, but I thought Dunsmuir was put on without the removal of any lanes of traffic. If so, I wouldn’t expect any substantial chang not should one be expected to justify the allocation of dead space.

  • Sean Bickerton

    I’m greatly relieved to hear Bill’s mother is safe (and loved) …

    But disturbed to see Chris stating “The idea that our elders ‘built this city’ is frankly somewhat offensive too Sean”

    Really? It’s just a statement of fact, Chris. The beautiful green city we now enjoy is just 124 years old and was literally built by the generations that preceded us.

    While I remain an eternal optimist, what our generation and the next make of the extraordinary legacy we’ve been handed remains to be seen.

  • MarkE

    @Dave Ball // Jun 4, 2010 at 5:49 am Comment 55 above

    Change is inevitable. We can only choose among more or less adaptive strategies to deal with it.

    Gas is going to become more expensive as a finite resource is exhausted. (and we breath the exhaust)
    The annualized cost of operating is car is already about $10K/yr. and climbing.
    Low density urban sprawl only exists because of cheap oil.

    Given that the struggling majority you refer to are not going to be able to afford to continue down this road indefinitely, what changes will be needed to make their lives tolerable—or better? They’re going to need transportation alternatives to the single occupant motor vehicle such as better mass transit, better bike facilities and urban spaces designed for pedestrians not cars. Densification that favours transit, biking and walking is certainly preferable to being stranded in what will become a suburban slum up the valley when the gas runs out.

    Detroit bet the farm on the automobile. Are we going to do the same?

  • Chris Keam

    Sean:

    I don’t think any generation is particularly better, worse, or more worthy of adulation than any other. Most of us are simply products of our environment. In fact, current and future generations will probably do more with less than the previous ones, if current trends continue.

  • Chris Keam

    Paris reveals plan to double number of bike lanes

    http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/paris-reveals-plan-to-double-number-of-bike-lanes-26364/

    Vancouver still has a long way to go to be a world-leader in this space.

  • Dan

    All these green “initiatives” are a bald attempt by Gregor Robertson to turn his nascent mayoral career into Provincial or Federal success, a la Mr. Campbell.

    Unfortunately, we are all collateral damage for his naked ambition. Dunsmuir was, without question, the most important artery in Vancouver, at least if you wanted to cross the city quickly by car. It should have have been sacrosanct; it performs an extremely vital service.

    I can barely contain my disgust.

  • spartikus

    Wow, I didn’t realize Dunsmuir crossed the entire city!

  • Chris Keam

    “cross the city quickly by car”

    is an oxymoron in any city in the world outside of off-peak hours. That’s why so many places with the space to do so build ring roads that skirt the city, so that through traffic needn’t enter the city.

  • sureyeah

    Keep it up. Keep taking away car lanes and turning them into bike lanes.
    Dunsmiur was the final straw for me.
    I was a moderate – now I’m ANTI-BIKE. I enjoy bike riding, but I will now take every opportunity to fight any expansion of bike lanes or forced congestion movements in Vancouver. I will pursue that politically, publicly and privately and will team up with others to fight it legally as well.
    Vision Vancouver is going to be very surprised at what the voters think about their social experiments regarding biking.

  • Norman

    I don’t think that bicycles will become more than “another option” for commuters in Vancouver unless we can find a way to change the weather. I really want to know why we aren’t talking about improving mass transit for the rest of us. Translink is chronically underfunded, but we can find more money for bike lanes. Is this common sense?

  • Chris Keam

    We didn’t find ‘more’ money for bike lanes. All that happened was that an announcement was made and work begun with money already in the budget.

  • Chris Keam

    “I don’t think that bicycles will become more than “another option” for commuters in Vancouver unless we can find a way to change the weather.”

    Vancouver = 165 days (less than half the year) with measurable precip. and the fewest days below freezing (among Canadian cities).

    by comparison, Amsterdam, London, and Copenhagen are all in the top five rainiest cities in Europe, and of course, also seeing significant existing and/or growing numbers of cyclists.

    It won’t be cycling that beggars transit, it’s accommodating automobiles. Options are good. Especially affordable, sustainable ones such as cycling.

    Hard to understand the hate-on for bikes. 🙁

  • Norman

    And I can’t understand why cyclists are so self righteous. There seems to be a notion that even pedestrians have no business interfering with cyclists, who won’t stop at red lights, cycle on sidewalks, won’t wear helmets, yet think the laws don’t apply to them.

  • Chris Keam

    Norman:

    A perceived lack of civility and lawlessness on the part of some is no argument to deny everyone else a measure of safety. Using your argument, one could suggest we never put fire sprinklers in a courthouse because some of the people inside are criminals.

    The answer to your issue is better education of road rights and responsibilities as part of the school curriculum, not exposing innocent people to risk of serious injury or death at the hands of drivers who, dare I say, exhibit many of the behaviours for which you chastise cyclists, usually with far deadlier consequences for the hapless pedestrian who falls afoul of their ‘self-righteous’ driving habits.

  • Norman

    Yes, I have often found that when logic fails, portraying myself as a victim is my last refuge.

  • Chris Keam

    Norman:

    So far you’ve provided three emotion and/or opinion-based objections to bike lanes and three times those arguments have been demonstrated to be lacking in rational underpinnings. By my count there’s still few more of the ‘usual’ reasons to oppose bike lanes.

    1) I don’t know why they need to wear those Spandex clothes

    2) Bike lanes create GHG emissions

    3) I can’t take a fridge on my bike

    4) It’s too hilly

    Have I missed any?

    cheers,

    CK

  • spartikus

    DNFTT

    (although I’d be curious if Norman, sureyeah and Dan all have the same IP address 🙂 )

  • Norman

    Yes, I and the other two are a conspiracy. In my case the objective is to elicit as much anger as possible from someone who wants to characterize my arguments in a way that he hopes will reduce their effectiveness. I’m not sure what motivates my partners.

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