Editor:
On any given day, I see various people biking around Burnaby. Some are the serious riders in cool outfits, others are people heading to work, and then there are the loafers like me, plodding along.
The Globe and Mail recently reported that Vancouver and Montreal are named among the world’s most bike-friendly cities. So, Vancouver and Burnaby have done some good things in creating separate bike greenways and bike lanes on busy highways as Lougheed.
However, what about when new roads constructed or redone, such as the case with Broadway during the FortisBC pipe upgrade? Do you take the opportunity to improve the road, to add a bike lane (an extra four feet of asphalt) since you are repaving the road anyway? Would it not make sense in any upgrade to consider adding a marked bike lane and pedestrian walkway if room provides?
Of course it would, but that would mean Burnaby City Hall has to think, plan and spend a little bit more money. It’s better to wait and build a bike lane years later at a much higher cost.
In new construction and repaving streets, care should be made to design them around transit, walking and cycling. All cities should design plans to improve non-car alternatives as part of the city’s growth.
I challenge Vancouver and Burnaby to always consider putting in a bike lane whenever a road is redone.
A real mindset change and innovation is needed in Burnaby and other municipalities. Broadway at Lake City Way is newly repaved with gravel coming right up to the narrow single way road. This is dangerous since as a bike moves over for cars, the bike will slide and lose control.
Further, as I found in China, if you add protected bike lanes, you will get even more riders of all ages taking a bike ride to the store, local mall or bank, eliminating traffic. Neglecting to change infrastructure, like on Broadway, shows how some municipalities still lack insight and proper planning.
More and safe bike lanes and new infrastructure are needed to get people out of their cars.
Riding along Lougheed at times is scary since cars do wander over into the bike lane and give the cyclist no protection. Another need is to have a safe place to lock up our bikes. The Lake City SkyTrain station has no safe areas to lock up your bike and no parking for that matter.
In comparison, while on a recent trip to Boston, the subway station I used had a daycare, three levels of parking and a cage to lock up your bike.
Let’s get a little more progressive and do something Burnaby.
Michael Sorbo, Burnaby
