The exact configuration of bollards, cones, signs and fences has seemed to change almost every week for two years, so you're never exactly sure which way to go, but hey, it's open! And you gotta admire their creativity in constantly finding novel ways around the new holes and other obstacles.
I actually stopped a few weeks ago to thank a member of the construction team for keeping the route open, and she was so touched that someone had actually taken the time to do this that I wanted to make my appreciation public!
But since we got our new eco-conscious mayor, Gregor Robertson (follow him on Twitter!), things have gone from good to better:
- A trial bike-share programme
- A doubled cycling infrastructure budget
- Car free days on many Sundays (same link as above)
- Segregated bike lanes on the deathtrap that is the Burrard Bridge
- And, today, a proposal for a new pedestrian and bike bridge.
The only thing better than the actual improvements is the spluttering red-faced reaction of the many local NIMBY and anti-cyclist types (see comments on any of the CBC articles linked above).
Yay Vancouver! Yay Gregor! And he even has a kilt, and is trying to get us rapid rail links to Seattle and Portland, and has started community gardens at City Hall!
I think I know who's getting my vote in the next municipal election...
wow, he sounds AWESOME!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you were on Twitter. Just found you!
ReplyDeletePhizzle, I think so, and many of my friends do too! He's creating quite a buzz...
ReplyDeleteSilver Fox, cool, I'll go check that out! Haven't been in for a couple of days...
Love-love-love his 'greenest city in the world by 2020' strategy - and if it already benefits the keen cyclists of Vancouver by such a simple thing as keeping the bike path open during construction it's even better!
ReplyDeleteSooo good that your new citizenship will enable you to vote for this guy in the next election (or was that already possible before...?).
I am soooooo jealous.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't shit for bike paths where I live and work. Oh wait, there is one path that takes you just up to the med. center before it ends. I don't know what crack-smoker decided that was a good plan, considering that the bike path is needed more in the med. center (where there a tons of pedestrians, lost patients, etc.) than on the almost car-free streets leading up to it.
Lisbeth, only citizens can vote in the municipal elections - so the next one will be my first chance to vote for him! There's not really a politician or party at the federal or provincial election who really inspires me, but Robertson does. There's talk that he may aspire to leading the BC NDP party in the future though, which would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteMXX, that's frustrating. The dangers of cycling along streets where stressed and distracted hospital patients are parking and crossing the road will probably give me enough material for a whole other post... let's just say that the last 2 blocks of my 6 km ride are the most dangerous!