Proposed bike lane through Kitsilano Beach Park met with opposition

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A group of people living in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood are expected to attend a Park Board meeting tomorrow, to object to a proposed bike path that would cut through portions of a local beach.

It’s just the latest development in an ongoing contentious issue.

The Park Board has been working on developing a separated bike path for Kitsilano Beach Park since 2013.

The latest recommendation being brought forward to the board would see a path built in the park, along Cornwall Avenue and Arbutus Street.

Elvira Lount, who’s lived in the area since 1971, plans to be at the meeting. She says bike lanes should be built on nearby streets instead. “If you look at the aerial shot of the park, there’s a lot of asphalt already in the park,” she tells NEWS 1130. “Why pave more of the park? We want more trees and more green.”

She agues Park Board members would break a promise they made in 2014 if the plan goes ahead. “All the park board commissioners were asked if they would vote, to put up their hands if they would vote for a bike lane through the park, and they all said no.”

However, it’s not a done deal just yet if the Board approves the plan –a public consultation would then be launched, with more detailed designs.

Lount thinks the consultation should have two options. “They do the designs for a route that’s completely on the road, and then they do a design for what they’re proposing already to the Park Board.”

Plans for the separated bike path are part of the city’s Seaside Greenway project. One proposal made by city staff included aligning a bike path east of Yew Street “in the green space between the parking lot and sidewalk on the north side of Cornwall Street.”

Members of “Wake Up Vancouver” plan to hold a rally at 6 p.m. Monday, prior to the Vancouver Park Board’s meeting. In a release, the group says a number of community groups will be participating.