The District of North Vancouver came together Monday evening to finally put an end to the long debated 29th Street parking and bike lane topic, but not without one final bout of back and forth from vociferous members.
The meeting was in place to make the final call on whether a parking pocket would be added to the north and south sides of East 29th Street.
Ultimately an amendment to only proceed with a pocket of time-limited parking spots on the south side between William Avenue and Fromme Road, set to cost $90,000 of the original $150,000 designated to the project, was passed.
Proposed by Coun. Jordan Back and supported by Coun. Catherine Pope, it was argued to be the best option that would retain the current bike lane and keep cycling enthusiasts happy, while still keeping in line with the accessibility needs of the road’s residents.
“This is going to have an impact on people who live here and who are going to see their front yard disappear, or at least most of it with these parking pockets. So I think we should be looking to minimize that, and I think that that would be a compromise as five or six spots on one side rather than both sides,” said Back.
“I support this motion because it is a compromise” agreed Pope, adding how, while “really opposed” to spending any taxpayers money on parking pockets, she is “happy to see it gone” as the issue had been “dragging on” since 2016.
In 2019, bike lanes were installed along both sides of E 29th Street as part of a safety and mobility project, a project that incited much feedback from local homeowners and cyclists who each gave their fair share of positive and negative comments.
At a meeting earlier this year, council deliberated on the removal of the bike lane on the southern side of East 29th Street, between William Avenue and Fromme Road, with the argument that it would bring better accessibility – like Uber pickups and curbside deliveries – to residents.
Council decided to not consider the motion at that time, and instead chose to defer to a workshop for further discussion with district staff.
“From the very beginning this has been a divisive affair,” said Mayor Mike Little on Monday. “When it originally came forward there was a proposal to do one lane. And what happened was there was a council meeting where the decision was made to switch to two lanes without any consultation with the community … and it’s caused us to be in this perpetual split.”
Little said he shared the view of Pope that he wasn’t a fan of spending money on the parking spots at all, but found Back’s proposed amendment to be “reasonable” and a fair compromise.
It was an opinion echoed by all except for Coun. Lisa Muri, who proposed that the issue be referred back to staff.
“This has been one of the most debacle issues I’ve ever dealt with in 27 years, it irks me that we’re still having to deal with this,” she said. “I don’t understand why a bike lane that has very little uptake on it is being so protected. I do not get it … I thought that as a municipality we were supposed to support our local residents and try to find solutions and all we’ve done is try to find solutions on one street instead of finding another way to ride down 29th.”
The proposal for the issue to be referred back to staff was shot down by Little, who said it was important a decision was made that evening and the issue could finally be put to bed.
The amended motion was carried, with Muri, Coun. Herman Mah – who had been in favour of the parking spots but argued more collaboration was needed with the community – and Coun. Jim Hanson opposed.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
