Proposed TransLink strategy would make region a bike haven

[Yellow Fever]

Proposed TransLink strategy would make region a bike haven


By KELLY SINOSKI, Vancouver Sun July 11, 2011 7:36 PM




TransLink hopes to turn Metro Vancouver into a cyclists’ haven within the next 30 years, with bicycle paths criss-crossing the region and more people — especially women — riding their bikes regularly.

Under a new Regional Cycling Strategy, launched Monday, TransLink has pitched a plan that aims to see 15 per cent of all trips less than eight kilometres in 2040 made by bicycle, up from two per cent today.

It also pledges to boost the number of female riders to 50 per cent, from about one-quarter today. Most regular cyclists right now tend to be “affluent middle-aged males,” said TransLink’s senior transportation planner Kamala Rao, but that could change if there are safer and more convenient routes away from traffic, perhaps along SkyTrain or on Metro’s inter-regional trails or greenways.

“The Regional Cycling Strategy addresses the 40 per cent of adults who say they’re ‘interested but concerned’ about cycling,” TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis said in a statement. “They want to use their bikes on a regular basis, but they still don’t feel it’s safe or convenient to do so.

The Central Valley Greenway, connecting Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster, along with the Canada Line bicycle bridge linking Vancouver and Richmond, are two examples of connecting the region, which has a total bikeway of about 1,400 centre-line kilometres, while about 10 per cent of roads include a designated bikeway.

“It’s not just people in all the suburbs going into downtown Vancouver; we’ve got people going everywhere in their neighbourhood,” Roa said. “Bike routes need to cross municipalities.”

Vancouver, for instance, has the highest cycling rates in Metro Vancouver, with cycling accounting for 3.6 per cent of work trips, while in several of the neighbourhoods surrounding downtown, such as Grandview-Woodlands, up to 12 per cent of work trips are made by bicycle.

Outside Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands, though, cycling rates are lower with an average bicycle-mode share of less than one per cent.

“We’re trying to ensure municipalities are working together to create cohesive cycling routes in the region,” Rao said.

But before more cyclists will come on board, TransLink first has to come up with the money to build more paths and facilities.

Local and provincial governments, along with TransLink, have spent about 30 million per year on cycling facilities and programs across the region — less than one per cent of total transportation spending in Metro Vancouver and about one-quarter of the level of money northern European cities spend on cycling.

In 2011, TransLink funding will represent only 10 per cent of the region’s overall bicycle spending, due to budget cuts related to its funding-stabilization plan.

“The importance of the regional strategy is to set goals and have everyone look at how the future fits into the entire region rather than every municipality doing everything on their own,” TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said.

The plan — the first of its kind — aims to work with municipalities to create a vision of where cycling routes should go while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, making travel safe and accessible, and increasing the number of trips by walking, cycling and transit to more than 50 per cent.

It also calls for building safer paths, so that 50 per cent fewer people are killed or seriously injured while cycling.

Developed over 18 months and based on consultation with stakeholders, the plans suggests that for a higher return on cycling investments, the bikeway network should focus on urban centres and areas of high cycling potential.

It also calls for the ability for cyclists to transport their bikes on transit, more bicycle parking at stops and stations and public-education campaigns to get more people riding their bikes.

The plan also aims to target bicycle theft, noting that two in 10 cyclists had their bikes stolen in the past five years, yet 23 per cent didn’t replace the bike for a year.

ksinoski@vancouversun.com



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