Cyclists will soon have a safe way to travel east to west across downtown Vancouver after City Council Thursday voted unanimously to create a segregated bike lane along Dunsmuir Street.
The lane will be ready by June 15 and will be up for a six-month trial period, as was the case with the Burrard Street Bridge bike lane.
Coun. Geoff Meggs, a vocal proponent of the lane and a cyclist himself, said the decision is another “big step” toward the city’s goal of reducing vehicle traffic and encouraging more cyclists.
“There’s no direct route across the downtown core for cyclists,” Meggs said. “The segregated lanes provide a higher sense of safety.”
The bike route, which will run to Burrard Street, will take away one vehicle lane between the Dunsmuir Viaduct and Howe Street, and will eliminate some parking spaces and bus stops.
Because Dunsmuir Street narrows after Richards Street, the lane could cause bottlenecks.
“We have asked staff to work closely with businesses (along Dunsmuir Street) and to make sure if there are problems we haven’t foreseen that we deal with them,” Meggs said.
“We’ll have to see how this goes. Fingers crossed.”
