Bike lane debate flares in New Westminster

The statement implicit bike lanes is backmost successful the spotlight, this clip successful New Westminster, B.C.

Several businesses successful uptown New Westminster accidental the installation of a separated motorcycle lane connected 6th Street 2 years agone has chopped into their bottommost line.

“Since they took distant the parking, it has affected the businesses,” said Ghaffar Nabizadeh, who operates the Mediterranean Donair House.

“This portion of the municipality determination are tons of elder citizens. They would similar to drive, halt here, bash their business.”

Nabizadeh wants to spot the metropolis emulate Ontario, wherever the provincial authorities is proposing authorities to teardrop retired 3 large Toronto motorcycle lanes it claims are causing congestion and hurting business.

“People don’t privation to travel present simply due to the fact that of the parking. Some radical person disabilities,” added Judy Brennan, who runs the New Westminster SPCA thrift store.

“It’s not making sense.”

Others successful New Westminster, however, accidental the city’s web of motorcycle lanes doesn’t spell acold enough.

Sara Kift takes her children to schoolhouse each time connected a cargo e-bike she calls her “minivan.”

“We don’t ain a car actually,” she said.

“A connected web is simply a well-used network, truthful I person a batch of hope. It is truthful large to person this motorcycle lane present that connects america to our schoolhouse that I spell to each day.”

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Kift said it is casual for businesses to blasted motorcycle lanes erstwhile determination are often much analyzable economical issues astatine play.

“There’s a batch of stats retired determination that shows concern goes up erstwhile motorcycle lanes spell in,” she said.

“Right present it’s 90 per cent car, and that’s not sustainable, and it’s not the mode to make a metropolis that is an existent neighbourhood wherever radical tin locomotion on that portion and bask the businesses.”

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone said removing motorcycle lanes arsenic Ontario wants to bash is “a mistake.”

New Westminster, instead, is successful the mediate of a multi-year enlargement of its cycling network.

“We person a program implicit the adjacent 5 oregon six years to physique retired motorcycle routes that everyone is wrong 400 metres of a harmless and accessible mobility route,” Johnstone said.

“It is going to instrumentality a fewer years to get that enactment done, and we are doing it benignant of a artifact astatine a time.”

Johnstone added determination is grounds showing motorcycle lanes are bully for section economies, and engaged streets are conscionable arsenic often a destination for cyclists arsenic they are for drivers.

While businesses connected 6th Street accidental they aren’t blessed with the existent situation, determination is section precedent for a displacement successful attitudes.

Nearly a decennary ago, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association reversed its vocal absorption to protected motorcycle lanes connected Dunsmuir Street erstwhile grounds showed the impacts to concern were minimal and some customers and employees utilized them.