Vancouver city council is expected to vote October 5 to make a pilot project for a two-way separated bike lane on the east side of Hornby Street a reality.
City director of transportation Jerry Dobrovolny has forwarded to council a formal recommendation that the bike lane pilot project be approved.
“It’s all the prerogative of council. Council will decide,” Dobrovolny told Business in Vancouver by phone from Halifax, where he is attending a transportation conference. “Council asked us to look at doing a pilot of separate bike lanes that connect Burrard Bridge to the Dunsmuir Viaduct.”
The report that Dobrovolny’s department prepared shows the project’s total cost is not to exceed $3.3 million and includes a $200,000 communication budget.
Dobrovolny said, “We will evaluate the bike lane and collect data. Sometime after six months, council would decide whether to leave it in place, whether to take it out and whether to make it permanent.”
BIV has reported that most business owners on Hornby Street are concerned the proposed bike lane will eliminate 60% of the street’s 262 parking spots (See “Business owners blast bicycle lobby’s influence at city hall” – issue 1088; August 31-September 6).