VANCOUVER AREA CYCLING COALITION ADDS
SUPPORT TO PROPOSED HORNBY STREET SEPARATED LANE
Along with most Hornby Street
visitors and a growing list of businesses, the VACC supports the
trial separated lane on Hornby Street as the proposal comes before
council on October 5th
A poll of people on Hornby Street released just last week shows
that 56% of area visitors supported the lane with 30% opposed. A
poll earlier in September showed that 48% of Vancouverites are in
favour of the lane with 34% against it. Combined with a VACC poll
showing community support and the successful launch of Business
for Bikes, the VACC views these numbers as a major endorsement of
the lane since protected bike lanes remain a relatively new concept
for Vancouver. The VACC expects that these large numbers of support
will encourage city councillors to see the big picture and vote
"yes" in Tuesday's decision on the fate of the trial on Hornby
Street.
The addition of the Hornby Street protected bike lane will complete
the link through downtown that enables cyclists to safely access
the downtown core from both the east side and west side of
Vancouver. Currently, the Dunsmuir lane provides a separated
east-west route, but there is no separated north-south route to
complete the network and allow cyclists of all ages to feel safe
and comfortable cycling downtown.. Without the Hornby Street
section, the current Dunsmuir lane trial is incomplete and will not
yield accurate data necessary to properly evaluate the impact of
separated bike lanes in Vancouver.
Richard Overall, from the Peak Performance store at the corner of
Robson and Hornby is one of the growing list of business supporters
and states "As a high end activeware retail store, we support the
proposed bike lane on Hornby as a means of improving our business
and helping the environment. Our target clientele are both
interested in the outdoors as well as personal fitness, therefore I
believe that increasing the number of cyclists on Hornby would have
a positive influence on the sales of our store."
Richard isn't alone in thinking that greater numbers of people will
be entering downtown using separated bike lanes; Mustel'spoll of
visitors to Hornby Street showed that 47% of them would consider
cycling to the street if there was a separated bike lane.
Businesses of all types benefit, and Business for Bikes members
like BC Top 40 employer Sierra Systems, are joining the voice for
cycling
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About the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition:
The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) is a staff-run,
volunteer-driven non-profit society whose members work to improve
conditions for cycling in the Lower Mainland. The VACC promotes
cycling for everyone through advocacy, education and events. For
more information, please go to www.vacc.bc.ca. For more information
about Business for Bikes, visit
www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca/businessesforbikes
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For more information, please
contact:
Lisa Slakov, Chair,Vancouver/UBC Committee
Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition
604.732.5803
lslakov@telus.net
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE