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Cycling is blooming in Vancouver

Vancouver has seen an increase in city cycling by almost 50%.
Vancouver has seen an increase in city cycling by almost 50%.
Vancouver has seen an increase in city cycling by almost 50%.

There’s a renaissance on two wheels happening in Vancouver, and the uptick in cycling numbers is prompting city government to consider more bike lanes

As a report submitted to city council on Tuesday concluded, 2014 saw Vancouver’s total number of active cyclists jump to 99,000, up from 83,000 in 2013. Between the two years, there was also a general increase by 20 % in total bike trips in and around Vancouver. The numbers suggest many things — a greater embracing of healthy living, more interest in sustainable transportation — but ultimately, they indicate one seemingly immutable reality: that Mayor Gregor Robertson’s new bike infrastructure is working really, really well.

Considering the city’s goal to get 50 percent of Vancouver out of their cars by 2020, it also means Robertson’s infrastructure is working even better than expected. Statistically, the figures in the report indicate that half of Vancouver — 49.7 percent, to be precise — made the switch to bicycles during the surveyed years, over half a decade ahead of the city’s stated goal. “The improvements to the seaside greenway certainly contributed to increased trips,” said Jerry Dobrovolny, the city’s acting general manager of engineering.

Calling it “phenomenal,” Robertson now has his sights set on 2040 — and an ambitious plan to slash Vancouver’s number of car trips by then to a third.

The report comes as somewhat damning for Vancouver transit, too, with many respondents citing the cost and perceived inconvenience of the bus as a factor in their decision to bike. They also show that the Seaside Greenway route, the source of so much controversy in Point Grey during its construction, might have had an effect on the surveyed numbers. Its opening in 2014 coincided with the statistical jump in city cycling.

Despite complaints from some Point Grey residents about the consultation process, the project, fully materialized, seems to have been embraced.