Jlousa also posted this in the road infrastructure thread, but thought I'd link to it here as well. The
Transportation 2040 False Creek Bridge Report makes interesting notes towards the existing cycling infrastructure and hints towards what may happen in the future. It's clear that the southbound Burrard Bridge lane will become permanent but it is also mentioned that the capacity is constricted on the northbound lane and the report also laments the lack of an eastern sidewalk. Does this mean they could reduce another lane on the Burrard bridge to accomodate both of these things? As a cyclist who wants to go as fast as possible I would love to have a wider northbound bike lane (passing people is sketchy right now) but man would that suck for regular vehicle traffic. As far as overall capacity though for commuters and tourists I don't really think being held up a bit behind slower cyclists (or families on sunny weekends or something) is that big of a deal. The lack of an eastern sidewalk does suck though, especially when pedestrians ignore the signs and walk three abreast along the sidewalk and complete block the bike lane.
The report also notes that there is no way to fill the 8 lane capacity on the Granville Bridge but I honestly don't think that removing lanes for pedestrians/cyclists is a great idea either, especially in the proposed 2 lane disaster down the middle of the bridge. It's the longest bridge of the three and I don't really see great cycling infrastructure on either end. It certainly isn't very appealing from a pedestrian point of view either, although a staircase down to the seawall and Granville Island would help (it would be a hell of a staircase though).
Cambie needs a better western sidewalk/bike lane for sure. I think I remember seeing/reading something a little while back that there is something in the works and it appears it will be cantilevered further out as opposed to removing a traffic lane. Hopefully that is the case.
What is interesting to note when you look at the bike lane statistics is that not a whole lot has changed with the improvements that have happened so far. And despite this, the plan still projects that pedestrian and cyclist traffic will double in the next 20 years? If there has been barely a change in the past 2, where is this growth going to come from? With vehicle traffic declining and cyclist traffic pretty much stagnent, wouldn't it make the most sense to focus time AND money on transit? Translink is pretty much broke and all this talk about Broadway vs. Surrey may be moot if they can't afford to do anything, but if the City of Vancouver shows that it is willing to step up to the plate somehow maybe they can push Translink actually moving forward.
Oh and I think a sure-fire way to improve cycling statistics (at least for summer and short trips) would be to lobby the Province to eliminate the mandatory helmet rule for those 18 years and older.
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