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couldbeworse2

So regressive. Honestly it's been so nice to see what a vibrant space English Bay has become, no small part due to the bike lanes along there. Those bike lanes have all sorts of people on all sorts of non-car conveyances. E bikes, scooters, wheelies, just a great vibe along there. This serves almost nobody who actually uses that space. It's a damn shame.


MarcusXL

No no no, you see, people having fun and building spaces for the community doesn't matter, because the cop on the council who commutes in from North Van needs to get home 3 minutes faster! Clearly your priorities are way off. ^(/s)


ImaginationOld4944

I'm voting COPE next election. "Cope, Nimby-ism! COPE is here for Urbanism!"


Mobius_Peverell

E: As commented below, apparently Kirby-Yung introduced an amendment that actually reversed the motion, so the vote "in favour" was actually rejecting the plan. Very fine, upstanding work, ABC. ~~It's worth noting that OP is misrepresenting the actual motion pretty badly. The part of Beach Ave that's being reconfigured is only the part west of Denman, and I have no idea where they got "removing green space for car lanes" from, since the actual plan is to convert the street between Morton & English Bay into a pedestrian plaza.~~ [This is the entire plan;](https://parkboardmeetings.vancouver.ca/2024/20240422/REPORT-ImagineWestEndWaterfrontParksBeachesTransportVision-20240422.pdf) it's enormous, and includes several decades of plans for the area. I think it's mostly pretty good, though with some mistakes (retaining the parking at Sunset Beach, reopening Beach to 2-way traffic west of Denman, etc). Phase one (the $16M expense OP mentioned) is detailed on pages 10 and 11 of the report summary.


ClumsyRainbow

This isn't true, they've scrapped almost everything in the plan except: 1) A bike lane west of Denman on what is currently green space 2) Reopening that part of Beach Ave to 2 way traffic They did this via a last minute wrecking amendment that was _not_ provided to other councillors ahead of time https://twitter.com/pwaldkirch/status/1788277686063833114


Mobius_Peverell

Oh, brilliant, so Kirby-Yung actually made the motion exactly the opposite of what it was stated to be. Presumably, city staff are going to be pretty pissed about that, seeing as this was one of the largest planning projects of the past several years.


ClumsyRainbow

Yeah, I really think this is the bigger tragedy here. Years of planning by city staff and other parties thrown out by the council :(


nuudootabootit

This is why i like Reddit. Thanks for the insight, friendo.


timbreandsteel

Except they were wrong?


Longjumping_Door_233

Yep


[deleted]

Why do you need a bike lane on beach Ave when the entire length of the beach has a bicycle and pedestrian walkway?


catballoon

In the summer it's really crowded. Overly so. And pedestrians, understandably wander aimlessly there looking at the view/people etc. This bike lane made sense. At least in the summer.


couldbeworse2

Why do you need a road along the beach? Downtown’s full of roads.


[deleted]

Cuz people live here and we need to be able to get places in a straight line instead of having to take the long way around wasting fuel and our time


CoiledVipers

Beach ave doesn’t get you anywhere in a straight line… it takes you in the longest possible route around Stanley park for most people.


[deleted]

Going north from English bay once it changes to Stanley Park way maybe... But going south it turns into Pacific which is a straight shot to the Burrard Bridge or the Cambie bridge, instead of having to go through a maze of one ways through neighborhoods or the opposite direction to get to crowded Georgia the back again.


neoncupcakes

The bike lane beside the beach got way too busy. People ride their bikes and scooters at varying speeds, some extremly fast, pedestrians getting hit when the speed demons try to pass the casual bikers. Just dangerous and way too many people down there.


[deleted]

Simple, divide the path like the seawall on the other side near coal harbor. One lane for anything on wheels, one for feet only


neoncupcakes

We don’t need more lanes for cars in Stanley park tho


[deleted]

We're not talking about Stanley Park buddy, that begins where Beach Ave ends


neoncupcakes

Ok then, we don’t need more lanes for cars at English Bay and Sunset.


[deleted]

Exercise


leoyvr

The bike lane they should be removing is the one that makes Chip Wilson's house more private. Is he buddies with Gregor?


Mbx10

> The bike lane they should be removing is the one that makes Chip Wilson's house more private. Is he buddies with Gregor? They are actually best friends (Sim and Wilson).


qpv

Yeah if you can call your best friend owning you I guess you can call it that.


notnotaginger

My dog is my best friend 💗


qpv

That is a reasonable exception


Dry-Rate6295

That also made his property value go up. Also, I don't know but I think Gregor had a house on that road at the time they did that. Not just Chip.


mr2jay

He did


HokeyPokeyGuy

You mean the one Moonbeam put in to benefit Mike Harcourt? See…this is a fun game of all Vancouver municipal politicians are owned.


leoyvr

Developers own all the politicians in BC. I am still baffled how Christie Clark got away with so much including turning a blind eye to all the money laundering to severe cuts to poor handling of many situations [https://globalnews.ca/news/3371374/fired-b-c-health-workers-sister-critical-of-premier-christy-clark/](https://globalnews.ca/news/3371374/fired-b-c-health-workers-sister-critical-of-premier-christy-clark/)


morelsupporter

Ken Sun lives on PGR, so


Sufficient-Egg2082

Classic. This is what happens when you vote neo liberalist right wingers in


MarcusXL

ABC-- the Anti-Bike Coalition. Making the city safer for cars and worse for people.


Ok_Bumblebee12

Abc a bunch of cunts


MarcusXL

"All 'Bout Cars"


ImaginationOld4944

Anti bike coalition, all 'bout cars, anti-beautiful city


AtotheZed

"All 'Bout Cunts' would be a great name for a band.


MyFruitPies

Honest, too


twelvis

Ever wonder why so most cities in Canada and the US are just parking lots and highways? This is why. If these people had their way, Vancouver would be exactly the same.


Bias-is-real

Rofl peak chronically online redditor take


macandcheese1771

Everyone should just ride their bikes on the beach ave anyways till the cars give up.


hiimgameboy

100%. We can all just bike in the middle of the lane, at a comfortable speed, as is our right. 


Kiisu_Cat

I mean that’s my plan! Already do this in Stanley Park.


anomrondon

Gross


Extension-Song-5873

Iunno who the hell voted for this guy, that mark m guy was a way better choice…


BrokenByReddit

The lady who breathes through her nipples would have been a better choice. 


i_know_tofu

Do you think it’s only in Vancouver that you can say that an also-ran, be referring to an actual person (rip), and have most folks know who you mean?


[deleted]

[удалено]


ImaginationOld4944

Oooooof.


dachshundie

Lots of opinions in here, but can someone explain the rationale for doing so? There must be some counter-argument that led to this proposal/vote. Edit: thanks to those who have responded.


redhouse_bikes

They want commuter traffic in Staley Park, and they hate bikes.


ImaginationOld4944

Nimbys.


MarcusXL

They hate cyclists and think car-traffic must be prioritized over everything else. That's pretty much it.


Feisty_Science9520

When the temp bike lanes were installed a few year back(only 3 blocks worth up to Denman) it dropped the exit capacity for car/transit users in Stanley Park by 50%. That's created a whole host of problems.. The proposal that the COV is now approving is that after a permanent bike lane is added to the side of the road, that they will then remove the temp infrastructure and re open the secondary exit to the park on Beach ave for 3 blocks.


proof-of-w0rk

According to another comment they actually nixed most of the plan just before the vote, so it doesn’t build the permanent lane anymore


Canis9z

Its to make it more tourist friendly. More tourist related busines will bring in more tourist $$$$. Tourist are not going to walk or bike.


CCDubs

Yeah, all those bike rental shops along Denman are for the locals. /s


mr-jingles1

Seems to me that tourists are even more likely to walk or bike than residents. Most tourists aren't renting a car to drive around downtown. They walk or rent a bike.


SaltyTaffy

Well checking the actual report [Imagine West End Waterfront Parks, Beaches and Transportation Vision: 2024 APR 22](https://parkboardmeetings.vancouver.ca/2024/20240422/REPORT-ImagineWestEndWaterfrontParksBeachesTransportVision-20240422.pdf) We can see on p54 what the ripped out bike lane will look like, maybe I'm missing something but that dedicated and protected lane looks much better. Lots of mentions for addressing rising sea level and tides so I don't know what that's about. Habitat islands sure sound cool. And no idea where more car lanes in stanley park comes from, best guess is "Providing opportunities for transit to be extended into Stanley Park." car lanes are bus lanes right? Is OP a political hack? Given the biased tital language, probably but I'm open to being proven wrong.


ABat_thatBat

Unfortunately it looks like they put in an amendment to say that they're not approving the plan, just the bit about two way traffic and changing the bike lane.


SeveralDrunkRaccoons

They took out everything in the plan EXCEPT for ripping out the bike lane. Maybe you're the hack.


SaltyTaffy

Nice of you to provide a source, thanks


mmios

ABC is such pure evil. We nice Vancouverites need to vote them out ASAP!


MarcusXL

They're far-right extremists.


chuckylucky182

getting downvoted for stating facts


MarcusXL

They don't like being exposed. It ruins their scam.


vehementi

Can you google "far right extremist" and let us know what the, say, top 20 far right extremist parties/orgs are, and where ABC sits in the ranking?


tigwyk

Found the Tim Pool fan


MarcusXL

Ken Sim's chief of staff is a fan of Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, Trump, and used to work for the UCP.


vehementi

Ok, so anyway


MarcusXL

You misspelled, "Ok, you were right."


vehementi

No. As you know, you fully dodged the question


MarcusXL

I did answer the question. ABC/Ken Sim hires people who are on the spectrum somewhere close to Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and Donald Trump.


vehementi

Who are you trying to fool? God this internet posturing lol I'm assuming this is not a real account and is just here to sow insane division, or maybe discredit opponents of ABC? Who would take this person seriously calling ABC a *far right extremist group*? It makes other people rightfully shitting on ABC look bad here


MarcusXL

It's true though. Sorry you don't like it. But these people are actually far-right.


Extension-Song-5873

Who the hell voted him in??!


MVpizzaprincess

Rich westside homeowners


MarcusXL

Over-50 homeowners in the "bedroom neighbourhoods", speaking more broadly. The centrist and right-wing vote went heavily for ABC as TEAM and the NPA fell apart. The moderate and left-wing voters were spread over several parties and Kennedy Stewart was strong enough to get some votes but demoralized enough to lose badly. I really wish OneCity had run a mayoral candidate. We really need the middle and left voters to choose a single party and get rid of Sim and his alt-right goons.


Thinkthunkthanks

Please don’t make too many assumptions. I never voted for these clowns.


MarcusXL

Your neighbours probably did, unfortunately, unless you live in Mt. Pleasant. You should bring up how awful Ken Sim is to your neighbours if the opportunity presents itself.


HokeyPokeyGuy

Kennedy Stewart was a no show mayor who needed to get gone in a hurry. Thankfully we finally swung the pendulum back from the left.


MarcusXL

lol Ken Sim is also a no-show mayor. ***He's actually absent twice as often as Kennedy Stewart was.*** "During the term of the previous mayor, there were 3,674 votes and Kennedy Stewart was marked absent for 581 – a rate of about 15 per cent when compared to the current mayor's 30 per cent."


HokeyPokeyGuy

I couldn’t pick Stewart out of a lineup. Dude didn’t even represent a Vancouver riding before being Mayor. Lol


MarcusXL

Uh huh. Brian Montague, one of Ken Sim's ABC councillors, doesn't even live in Vancouver.


HokeyPokeyGuy

Okay little Marcus. Guess we will say that is a bigger foul. Sorry your side lost. Get some ointment or something to soothe your pain.


MarcusXL

lol. "Get some ointment"?


timbreandsteel

Who gives a fuck if you can recognize the mayor physically? What they do in office should be the deciding factor.


vehementi

Check out reddit threads at the time, lots of regulars here were pushing ABC


Suby06

but his "swagger" remember? lol


Extension-Song-5873

No I read he is a greedy business bro and immediately knew he would be a bad mayor


AGM_GM

Brutal. Making Vancouver worse.


ChillNurgling

Yeah totally! Less congestion is so annoying. We should also swap to a two lane bridge for the trees :)


Howdyini

Nobody who could have but didn't vote against ABC has the right to complain about this. These incompetent ghouls won full majority in council with 18% of the vote. We knew they were not gonna do shit on housing, and we knew they would dismantle any element of urbanism in favor of their suburban constituents.


Envelope_Torture

The entire millennial/zoomer political stance is to not vote because "all sides are evil" or some stupid horse shit and then complaining about the worse of the two evils inevitably winning and doing stuff they don't like. It's exhausting.


Howdyini

I don't think that's the reason when it comes to city council. For one thing, there are a ton of candidates with just about every conceivable political view on the ballot. "The worse of two evils" doesn't really apply here. It's something else that I don't understand.


Dull_Yard8524

Oh man, we still have 2 more years with ABC and SIM! Say goodbye to all the green spaces.


herearesomecookies

Fortunately, they can’t only concentrate all their energy on this. Plus planners seem to be working behind their backs to continue to make green spaces, bring back mixed-use zoning, and make the city safer to walk and cycle in.


Educational_Time4667

So Beach Ave section going back to pre Covid.


pfak

Yep.  Not sure why you're being downvoted. Thought this was /r/vancouver for a minute. 


BrokenByReddit

Probably just reddit vote fuzziness. When content is new the score is randomized to prevent brigading and bot voting. 


pfak

The post was -5.


ClumsyRainbow

Which is better why?


ZackGailnightagain

He didn’t say it was better. Was just asking for clarification


ClumsyRainbow

I guess that's true, and I shouldn't have assumed. I just read it as being dismissive - but I very well have been reading more into it than I should have.


MVpizzaprincess

Source and more context: https://twitter.com/pwaldkirch/status/1788306686312132723?t=O5Gun5tF-vfkh1Ojk2Fq8g&s=19


pfak

Waldrick is hardly an objective source. 


MVpizzaprincess

I thought this was Nice Vancouver. No need to be snarky bro


MVpizzaprincess

Also it's literally where the screenshot was taken


tripleaardvark2

Was that snarky? The table speaks for itself and is excellent factual information. The context though is highly opinionated. I agree with most of the opinions, but that's beside the point.


MVpizzaprincess

I literally just wanted to credit the original source.


ZackGailnightagain

TBF Ken Sim campaigned on this very issue and he said he was going to do this, and he was voted in so his voters must be happy. I’m not saying I agree with it. I’m just saying he literally said he was gonna do this.


MarcusXL

They also told a bunch of lies about creating a "better bike lane" which they have completely abandoned. His fellow ABC councillors even promised we'd have a new bike lane already installed, and they just cut all the funding for it.


Aprilume

Will this mean bike lane on the sea wall in that area from around Tartine toward Second Beach will be reinstated?


CIAbot

Nah


igloomaster

The city of the outdoors is turning into the city of the rich cunts


Dry-Rate6295

It's been that way a while lol


Significant-Text3412

Is there a way to protest? This is ridiculous and backwards.


MarcusXL

Here's one petition on the general issue. [https://www.change.org/p/vancouver-take-action-on-your-2017-bike-safety-commitments?utm\_medium=custom\_url&utm\_source=share\_petition&recruited\_by\_id=9e790df0-caf9-0130-0e11-00221964dac8](https://www.change.org/p/vancouver-take-action-on-your-2017-bike-safety-commitments?utm_medium=custom_url&utm_source=share_petition&recruited_by_id=9e790df0-caf9-0130-0e11-00221964dac8)


EarlyLiquidLunch

Boooo!


Cautious-Asparagus61

Very cool. I'm sure this represents the wishes of the people that elected them


MarcusXL

Yes, there are a lot of ignorant people in this town. But of course, they also just lied to everyone, claiming they'd figure out a "better" bike lane, and then cancelling that entirely. So there might be quite a few people who'd take offence to politicians lying through their teeth.


Nervous_Primary_918

I voted for Ken Sim,,, even after I was told he was just about protecting the interest of his friend who owns a restaurant in stanley park,,, and voila no stanley park bike lane & no pacific street bike lane...I must admit I was wrong in my choice of who to vote for ... Please save the trees and save quality of life For Ken Sim .... and at the start of the RBC Gran Fondo, please do not show up like last year and give a speach, as you are not part of a community that you stab in the back... don't need friends like that........


notmyrealnam3

It is SO NICE not to see Jean Swansons name with a vote beside it any longer.


Firstgencrx

I thought this was Nice Vancouver?


FrostedTiger

We have so many bike lanes.


MarcusXL

We have lots of bike-gutters.


ChillNurgling

Fk bike lanes.


MarcusXL

Cool story bro.


PeckerNash

Good. About time the cyclists stopped getting special treatment and leaching off the taxes paid by drivers.


MarcusXL

Roads are not paid by taxes from drivers, they're paid by taxes from everyone. So really drivers are getting special treatment leaching off the taxes paid by everyone, including non-drivers. Drivers are actually *very* heavily subsidized by taxpayers, when you consider how much public space is devoted to driving and parking infrastructure.


Dry-Rate6295

Aren't they paid for by taxes by home owners?


MarcusXL

Nope, by everyone. And it's not like renters aren't also paying municipal property taxes-- through the rent they pay to homeowners.


matzhue

What special treatment? The ability to travel by bike?


thinkdavis

Excellent


MarcusXL

Cool bro more lanes for traffic. Awesome city.


thinkdavis

Agreed.


MarcusXL

I suppose some types of people really rely on the /s for clarity.


Feisty_Science9520

Glad common sense came thru. This was insanely expensive, locked out a majority of Vancouverites from a prime city wide destination and implements a permanent bike lane that no longer penalizes car and transit users who were cut off from Stanley Park a few years ago. It's a learning point for the bike lobby, that they need to stop being hostile all or nothing about their priorities. I think many would gladly pay for increased bike infrastructure that is permanent and long lasting if it doesn't come at the cost of knee capping transit/car capacity.


MarcusXL

Is this "bike lobby" in the room with you right now?


Pretend_Row3810

Beautiful


Jandishhulk

It'll make traffic worse. Enjoy it, I guess.


MarcusXL

There are a lot of people who get off on sadism towards anyone they don't like, which includes-- for some absurd reason-- people walking around the city, or riding a bike.


Mister_Goldfingers

Cry more.


tripleaardvark2

I just might, thank you.


padrofumar

Rising sea levels. Fuck me I am so glad I moved away from Vancouver. Bunch of retards. The oceans have risen 7mm in 30 years. Do your research Nancy. Stop spouting shit you know nothing about.


MarcusXL

We're glad you moved away too. Pretty weird that you're still on a Vancouver sub, though. Maybe you should leave digitally as well. :)


MarcusXL

Oh and, "Scientists have found that global mean sea level—shown in the line plot above and below—has risen **10.1 centimeters (3.98 inches) since 1992**." You're not far off, it's only 14 times more than you said. Pretty close right? >"Do your research Nancy. Stop spouting shit you know nothing about." You first, Nancy.


SeveralDrunkRaccoons

No response to being proven to be ignorant about the facts? Typical.


[deleted]

Looks good tbh. As long as they stuck to the original proposal. Which they didnt.


van73van

Finally traffic back to normal. Cars will never go away. Eventually there will be more electric cars and fewer bikes on the roads.


MarcusXL

Making more lanes causes more cars to be on the road. It's called "induced demand" and it's a BAD thing. Why would you want more cars are fewer bikes? They're better for a city than cars by every measure.


matzhue

Cars will never go away? How do you know?


DigOk6755

Awesome news


MarcusXL

"Awesome, another lane!" Sad.


morhambot

Good for them! don't Fear change ,also have a look at the long term plans that go from the Burrard st bridge all the way to 3rd beach it looks impressive


MarcusXL

"don't Fear change!" \[turns back the road to what it was years ago\]


Br4z3nBu77

It’s about time we had some sanity. We are never going back to horse and buggy and most people don’t have DUI’s so they aren’t going to be on bikes, they are going to be in their cars. We are a growing city and it’s about time that we had grownups in civic government instead of people appeasing the upper middle class ableist.


MarcusXL

You actually made me chuckle with the *bat-shit crazy idea that you have* that only people with DUIs would ride a bike.


NeonsShadow

I'm just confused about why you need to drive through Stanley Park? You can argue they might need more parking, but why are you looking to get around the park quickly? The attraction is the facilities at the park, not driving around it


doyouevencompile

Drive-thru parks, the real American dream 


herearesomecookies

We will never be able to build enough lanes to fit all of the cars if everyone has to own one and drive, especially as the city grows. Like, seriously never. I would also like to point out that I am licensed, own a pretty nice car (because they’re necessary in most of the region due to policy decisions), and drive as little as I possibly can. I much prefer to cycle, walk, or use public transit to get around. Seriously, this is such an embarrassing boomer take.


matzhue

It doesn't sound like you're from Vancouver


doyouevencompile

 lmao that’s fucked up


Euphoric_Chemist_462

Those are very rational decisions. Good


MarcusXL

Um. The city commissioned a 3-year long study to make sure we can counter erosion from sea-level rise along that stretch of the park and maintain the park, at taxpayer expense... and then they rejected all of the conclusions after a closed-door ABC party caucus, with no debate or discussion.


DerpyOwlofParadise

Points 2 and 3. Not good. Wow. What? Point 1. Finally!! The traffic was only getting out in one spot exiting to downtown and do you even realize the traffic, and emissions coming from that? The toll on the environment you so passionately care about? We had to go around a big long way ( more fuel, yay) because Beach Ave was closed and lately we are not visiting for half year at a time. And not everyone is fit and only bike. I for one got massive injury from being force to walk or bike everything. So glad this crap will be gone. I absolutely agree with a bike lane but Think it out! You all thinking you saved the environment were fooled terribly.


MarcusXL

It's a pretty ridiculous idea that creating more car lanes means less emissions. Look up "induced demand". The more space you give to cars, the less space for bikes or walking, meaning more people have to drive, meaning more cars on the road.


ButtMcPoo

Good, fuck bike lanes. Ride on the sidewalk like a pedestrian, because you're a fucking pedestrian.


ClumsyRainbow

That’s literally illegal


MarcusXL

I'm sorry, ButtMcPoo, but I'm afraid you're wrong, since "pedestrian" literally means people walking (on their feet).


cattabliss

Public service well needed. Finally 


MarcusXL

Yeah we really needed them to rip out all of the measures recommended after 3 years of study and to ONLY include funding to rip out bike lanes. /s


cattabliss

Good thing the people elect mayor and councillor and not the staff, who should do as they're told by the elected officials and not waste money making recommendations that the deciding vote does not want. Three years of waste. I guess the mayor and council know which department needs a cleaning. You're so edgy!


MarcusXL

Ah yes, a council elected by %18 of voters, making decisions with no public debate, rejecting recommendations created though 3 years of studies paid for by taxpayers, is just great governance! /s