Cyclists from Burnaby and those who ride through Burnaby love making fun of the city for its efforts on bike lanes.
And for good reason.
While many cities, such as Vancouver, have made the safety of cyclists a priority, Burnaby is, in my opinion, sadly lacking.
Now comes a new project that is nearing completion on Lougheed Highway just east of Gaglardi Way – a high-traffic area with the Production Way SkyTrain station.
The project has been going on for months and has included changes to the road medians.
On the north side of Lougheed at Production Way, however, has seen the construction of what qualifies as a “protected” bike lane – meaning there is actually a physical barrier between vehicles and cyclists.
That barrier continues across Production Way to the west side.
And then it stops. In all, the barrier is really tiny, as the photos embedded into this story show.
I guess it’s good that the city built something, but many cyclists have told me they are frustrated that Lougheed doesn’t have a long barrier for cyclists.
David Finnis tweeted out some mocking about the city changes west of Production Way.
“Wow! TWO lines of paint to keep vehicles out of the bike lane on Lougheed Hwy in Burnaby,” Finnis tweeted, adding “#doubleprotection” as a final shot.
Wow! TWO lines of paint to keep vehicles out of the bike lane on #Lougheed Hwy in #Burnaby. #DoubleProtection pic.twitter.com/Zg3taRyy3u
— David Finnis (@ilovethearts) October 12, 2020
Totally fair criticism.
In case anyone thinks I’m always criticizing the city over this stuff, I refer you to two recent blogs about how the city got it right by building urban trails on Kensington and then on Burnaby Parkway on the mountain.
But Burnaby is a big city and one tiny barrier and some lines of part just aren’t cutting it.
This comes at a time when the City of Burnaby is pushing forward on a city-wide transportation plan.
In February this year, city council approved “draft targets, big moves, policies and networks” proposed by staff to lay the foundation of the transportation master plan, and city staff have since consulted the public and stakeholder groups on the matter.
Coun. Pietro Calendino, chair of the planning and development committee, said that while there were questions about how the plan will be funded and whether residents could stomach related tax increases, there was also a sense of responsibility that work needs to be done, particularly around climate change.
The draft targets include seeing zero deaths or serious injuries in the city’s transportation network, massively increasing transit and active transportation in the city and achieving zero emissions from transportation by 2050. According to the city’s report, those targets received 75% support or strong support from survey respondents.
My response is that if you want people to take part in more active transportation, then maybe don't have Calendino involved because he sounds more concerned about money than making changes.
Oh, also build protected bike lanes. People won't ride if they are worried about getting killed.
- With files from Dustin Godfrey
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
