THIRTEEN years ago, a group of environmentalists took the Vancouver Park Board to court, demanding an injunction to stop the board from cutting down any trees to widen the Stanley Park Causeway.
The argument was that the park board could only remove trees to facilitate traffic within the park, and that the causeway was only used by people commuting through the park to and from the North Shore. The court challenge failed and we got wider roads. Not more lanes to accomodate more users. Just wider lanes - for cars.
In the decade since, alternate transportation, including pedal power, has occupied a much bigger space on the public agenda. But the causeway - an avoidable route for anyone going downtown from the North Shore - remains a concern for cyclists.
The tragic death last week of a North Vancouver woman who fell off her bike on the sidewalk into the path of a West Vancouver transit bus has renewed calls to re-examine the issue. Protective barriers and wider sidewalks are among the options being promoted. As last week's accident horrifically showed, it's past time we looked at this.
If we want to get more people cycling, they need to feel safe. Dedicated and separated bike lanes are essential on busy thoroughfares.
If it's the environment we're concerned about, maybe it would be worth giving up a few trees to get more people onto a greener mode of transportation.
Drivers who bemoan the encroaching bicycle infrastructure should consider that cyclists could do more to lighten the traffic load than wider lanes could.
