We are both residents and cyclists that are not opposed to bike lanes, but to the unsafe design that the City is imposing on us. The City of Vancouver has created a new design for bike lanes on King Edward Avenue between Arbutus and Dunbar that is unsafe. The design is a chaotic mixture of unprotected (parked cars along the curb) and "protected" bike lanes (cyclists alongside the curb, parked cars on the roadside). The new design is unsafe as the inconsistency in design will create cyclist and driver confusion leading to chaotic traffic patterns. 

The new plan for the road and bike lane design was created without any formal consultation with residents of our community. Instead they have taken a slap dash and heavy handed approach that ignores the valuable knowledge of resident, pedestrian and cyclist users of the road.  The City makes no mention of the impact of the new design on the safety of hundreds of school children and residents that use the road and crosswalk everyday. In British Columbia, the number pedestrian related accidents is about 50% more than and the death rate is almost 10 times that of cyclists.  The City has tunnel vision. 

We would like the city to remove the “protected” bike lane sections from their design and take a rational, consistent and safe approach to the design of the bike lane on King Edward Avenue between Arbutus and Dunbar. The new design should maintain the parking lane along the curb with the bike lane consistently on the left. The City has deliberately deceived residents and taxpayers and it is time to speak up! The below points are the highlights of why we are demanding a change in design:

Key safety issues

• cyclists will have no escape route as they will be boxed in by cars in the “protected” sections of the bike lane design. The trees and light posts are within inches of the curb on our street, in the event of an accident cyclists could be thrown into a post, a tree, a parked car or the curb. The risk is especially high when heading east downhill at higher speeds.
• Over the years we have had a number of accidents involving vehicles sideswiping cars on King Edward. Under the new design the likelihood of an accident will be increased by narrowing the road and forcing families with more than one child to exit the vehicle into traffic.
• Many residents with mobility issues are now losing their front parking with no notice and will be forced to cross a bike path to reach the sidewalk from their vehicle or handi-dart. 
• The City has not shown any evidence of a plan for removing snow or ice on the “protected” sections. In the “protected” bike lane sections cars will block any regular de-icing or snow removal creating a very hazardous bike lane for cyclists and crossing for residents/school children to reach the sidewalk.
• This section of King Edward is lined with trees within inches of the curb. The leaves go onto the road, making the street very slippery.  In the “protected” bike lane sections cars will block any ability to properly clear leaves, creating a slippery bike lane for months in fall. In unprotected sections cars can easily park on top of leaves and the roadside bike lane will be largely unaffected or more easily cleaned.

Crosswalk at Lord Kitchener School (Collingwood and King Edward Ave)

• Hundreds of school children use the crosswalk every days. The crosswalk is also widely used by residents. The design’s new right-turn lane from King Edward to Collingwood will result in this new turn lane potentially becoming a passing lane for inattentive drivers creating a hazardous crossing especially during busy morning commuting and school drop offs. 

Inconsistency from Arbutus to Dunbar

• The new design has 4 flow changes in 5 blocks; furthermore, 2 changes occur at complex intersections (Quesnel and Dunbar where hills and multiple on-off lanes complicate visuals) and the other 2 occur within an active school zone (Blenheim and Collingwood).
• From Arbutus to MacDonald, parking is maintained along the curb line. The bike lane is between the parking lane and the vehicle lane.
• From Quesnel to Blenheim, the bike lane moves to curb-side, and the parking is between the bike lane and vehicles.
• From Blenheim to Collingwood (in front of Lord Kitchener Elementary School), the vehicle parking is along the curb. In this block, the bike lane shifts back to the outside of the parking lane and adjacent to the vehicle through lane.   
• From Collingwood to Dunbar, the bike lane then switches back to curb-side.  As a result, minimal parking is proposed within this block. 
• As the road approaches the intersection at Dunbar Street, it rapidly increases in grade. This is a challenge for cyclists.  The proposed bike lane design shifts the cyclists back to the middle away from the curb approximately 30 meters of the intersection.  This will be a difficult maneuver for cyclists and dangerous as they must cross the right turning buses and vehicles.

Loss of parking

• The new design removes much of the street parking. 
  The residents of King Edward rely on the on-street parking. Vehicle parking on cross streets is limited.
• There is very little parking at Lord Kitchener Elementary school and parents have long relied on street parking on King Edward during busy drop offs and pick up times. During construction, parents have not had this parking on King Edward, and as a result, have been blocking lanes along Collingwood, 26th,  the alley between King Edward/24th, and 24th Street, which will continue under the new design. 
• With continuing densification the new design will only become more problematic.