The Cyclist's Guideto Vancouver's Downtown Transportation Plan |
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The Cyclist's Guideto Vancouver's Downtown Transportation Plan |
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This route [Georgia/Pender/Dunsmuir] is the main east-west connection between the Lions Gate Bridge and the Adanac Bikeway (Union Street). Although eastbound and westbound bike lanes on Pender Street are desirable, the narrow width of Pender Street between Howe and Cambie makes this difficult without compromising transit or business interests along the street. One potential solution is converting Pender Street from two-way to one-way eastbound along this section. This would allow for the creation of a one-way couplet of bike lanes, eastbound on Pender and westbound on Dunsmuir. [...] It is recommended that further detailed analysis be conducted given the complexities of the changes and a desire by many to maintain two-way traffic and transit services along Pender Street.
An eastbound bike lane could begin at Georgia Street and travel along Pender to the existing bike lanes on Pender between Cambie and Carrall. A connection could then be made via Carrall, Keefer and Columbia to connect to the Adanac Bikeway on Union Street. The implications of this bike lane include the removal of parking on the south side of Pender between Nicola and Jervis, the creation of a permanent parking lane on the south side of Pender between Jervis and Thurlow, the creation of a permanent parking/loading lane on the north side of Pender between Howe and Cambie, the relocation of westbound buses from the proposed one-way section of Pender, and the removal of some parking on Carrall, Keefer and Columbia.
A westbound bike lane could begin on Union at Main and would offer two potential routes. One is along the proposed westbound bike lane across the Dunsmuir Viaduct, along Dunsmuir and Melville streets, connecting with Pender Street at Jervis. For the majority of its length, existing parking and travel lanes would be maintained, with the exception of Dunsmuir Street between Richards and Burrard, where parking would be need to be removed because of the narrow street width. The parking removal will help to improve traffic flow and safety in this narrow section of Dunsmuir. The alternative westbound bike route is to use Columbia, Keefer, and Carrall streets to connect to the existing bike lanes on Pender Street. Westbound cyclists on Pender Street would then head southbound on Beatty to reconnect with the westbound bike lanes on Dunsmuir.
[DTP pp. 98-99]
The Dunsmuir Viaduct has heavy traffic volume, 20 000 to 40 000 vehicles per day [DTP p. 44]. It is part of the major road network [DTP p. 45].
No impact.
No impact.
The Dunsmuir viaduct is a truck route [DTP p. 105].
No impact.
No impact.
On the Dunsmuir Viaduct, Engineering Services staff are willing to accept a temporary reduction in the number of traffic lanes from three to two lanes from Main/Prior Streets to west of GM Place, to accommodate a temporary walkway on the south side. The final design is to include a four lane cross section approaching Beatty Street that is of adequate length to accommodate the peak period vehicle storage requirements and demand through the signal at Beatty and Dunsmuir, in order to minimize the disruption to the traffic flow (Appendix C). After the Encroachments are removed, the three lane configuration would be restored and a bike lane would be constructed in accordance with the Downtown Transportation Plan.
[Administrative Report of July 29, RTS #03453]
If Pender and Dunsmuir are used as a matching couplet, then this route will be a useful connection from the Adanac bike route. If Pender is instead used as a two-way bike route, then the viaduct will be much less attractive. However, it may still be useful for commuter cyclists who prefer a quick route along Georgia to the official bike lane on Pender.
Furthermore, every street in Vancouver should be accessible to cyclists. Currently, the roadway on the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts is a fast, elevated highway-style route that is very intimidating to cyclists. Both viaducts do have very narrow pedestrian walkways with waist-high barriers separating pedestrians from traffic; these aren't very suitable for cyclist use, since there isn't enough space for a cyclist to pass a pedestrian (or another cyclist). It's also probably illegal for cyclists to use them, even though they're rarely used by pedestrians. All streets in the city should be safe for well-trained cyclists, and the viaducts are not yet safe.
Development of this route is in preparation, of sorts. The existing pedestrian walkways are being torn down as the Costco site below is developed, and a temporary replacement pedestrian route will be created by closing one lane of vehicle traffic (from three lanes to two lanes). It is not clear how the eventual permanent solution would look. It appears that Concord Properties (Costco developers) will also be building some sort of permanent elevated walkways. The permanent solution (and the bike lane) will likely not happen for four years (by 2007).