Bike-related overhauls in Stanley Park start this week
The $4.4 million project involves the development of new paths connecting the West Georgia Street entrance to Stanley Park with the Lions Gate Bridge, with detours starting this weekend.
Heads up, Vancouver: starting this evening, construction will be transforming pathways through Stanley Park in a very bike-friendly manner.
The work being done in the Park is a further expression of Vancouver having embraced cycling in recent years, with neighbourhoods throughout the city seeing their infrastructure re-imagined to make it more accessible, and indeed safer, for riders. In Stanley Park, that involves the development of new paths connecting the West Georgia Street park entrance with the Lions Gate Bridge, a project that totals $4.4 million. It’ s not just a project but a necessity, advocates and city officials say, that’s all but demanded by Vancouver’s swelling numbers of riders.
According to reports published by the Province of British Columbia, the busy summer months see more than 2,200 cyclists use that route through Stanley Park alone, with 200 pedestrians also reported. The new bikeways, the city says, are meant to accommodate those numbers, by updating older routes and, in many cases, expanding them.
As proposed by the Vancouver Park Board in December, 2014, the western sidewalk along the route will be widened to 2.1 metres and limited exclusively to cyclists traveling southbound. Other parts of the route will be widened a bit more, with a 2.7 metre span opening up space for bike passing lanes. On the northbound side, the existing sidewalk will be widened to 3.6 metres, allowing space for two parallel lanes for riders heading in that direction. Both sides, reports say, will be insulated from the main flow of vehicle traffic by a green metal barrier — a key safety-oriented part of the redesign, made necessary after a female cyclist was hit by a bus two years ago, when she mistakenly rode off the southbound sidewalk.
Starting Monday, Sept. 14, Hanson Trail and Pipeline Drive will see detours on weekdays between 9 am and 3 pm, with single lane overnight closures between 9:30 pm and 6 am, as well as between 10 pm and 9 am on weekends. On the causeway itself, vehicle traffic isn’t expected to be affected during the day.
The ambitious project is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
