VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The city is looking at creating bike-only lanes on the Cambie Bridge but how far will those lanes go? If the cycling lanes get extended past Broadway, you could see some impact on local businesses.

Urban planner Michael Geller says it all depends on what’s done with parking along the busy road. “I know from experience, cyclists do stop off in shops… but many shops are more dependent on people who are either in cars or using public transit.”

He tells us if parking spaces get wiped out, you may have a problem.

Geller adds it could work, but the city would have to “try and be creative in terms of making sure that the businesses don’t suffer with a loss of parking if additional lanes are being provided.”
    
He thinks the city should look into the needs of businesses, many still stinging from the Canada Line construction. He also admits he used to be a lot more cautious about supporting bike lanes, but feels attitudes are shifting.

We hit the streets to find out what you think. Reactions seem to be mixed.

“It’s never going to appeal to everyone,” admits one man we met on Cambie Street this morning. “I don’t know how sympathetic car drivers are going to be.”

“I just think sometimes they’re a little bit of a hazard,” says another. “I worry about, especially in this area, where there’s a lot of traffic, more accidents, more fatalities… that sort of thing. So, it’s actually stressful to have more bikes on the road.”

One woman thinks it might not be too bad. “I think now with the [Canada Line], there’s less traffic with all three bridges.”

The City of Vancouver is bringing in a consultant to see if new bike lanes could work on both the Cambie and Granville Street Bridges.