The Hornby Bike Lane officially opened on 7th December 2010. So ends a ridiculous fight in which business owners resisted a bike lane that could potentially save lives, in order to save 158 parking spots! (And cyclophobes resisted it because they think 1% of Vancouver road space is already far too much for cyclists.) The reality is that there is still PLENTY of parking in the area – actually, more than enough for cars, but not enough for bikes!
The Hornby Bike Lane was approved unanimously by Vancouver City Council on 5th October 2010. Another giant step forward in making cycling safe for all in Vancouver! Another coup for Mayor Gregor Robinson and Vision Vancouver.
Awesome! I’m going to try it out Friday morning.
Will you be posting the ride on Youtube by any chance? (if your going to record it).
I’d be interested in seeing what it’s like.
You bet! It’s been raining like crazy here and the rain collects on the lens and distorts the image, so I have been waiting for a time without rain to record it. Friday looks like it will have minimal rain. The north end of it runs right into the Coal Harbour separated path which connects the downtown core with Stanley Park, and I plan to make a video of that too since I don’t have one up of that yet.
Looking forward to seeing the video, Alex – if you like, send me a link and I will add it to the post.
And here it is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ0i-At1zws
I haven’t yet had an opportunity to bike up Hornby yet, but I ran into a messenger this morning who said that a few other messengers were complaining that the two-way arrows seemed to disappear at various parts of the lane. He also expressed some concerns with potential conflict areas with car traffic making right turns along the lane that didn’t seem clearly marked to his eyes.
My guess is it won’t be perfect right off the bat – it is after all only just over two months since they started work on it – but hopefully they will be open to improving it till it is safe for all. I noticed that work of various kinds continued for a long time on Dunsmuir after it opened.
I’ve been using it guerrilla style for a while now-might as well enjoy it because once Robertson gets tossed in the next election it’s all coming out-you read it here first.
I left Vancouver 2 years ago when the talks were just heating up. Very happy to see it has finally come to fruition. A properly funtioning city needs all modes of transport. As we move into the electric bike and moped style electrics , all those who are apposing now will be relieved that they can commute to work and shopping for pennies a day as well as no parking tickets etc. in the very near future. I have moved to Australia and am blown away by the lack of thought and planning in the cities here. Vancouver has a amazing attitude for change and will eventually be showing the world how its done. I miss Vancouver!!!
Hey Jim, we miss people like you! I think you are so right about the rise of the electric bike … I wish I had money to invest in that, because I think it’s going to grow like a tsunami …