Another business organization does not support city council’s plan to implement a separated bike lane on Hornby Street in downtown.

Last week it was the Vancouver Board of Trade. This week it is the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.

In a Sept. 28 letter to Mayor Gregor Robertson and councillors, the business association cited four main concerns with the bike lane proposal, which calls for barriers in place of metered parking spots.

They are:

• Consultation about the proposal was “abbreviated and not conducive to a productive dialogue” to explore other options including continuing with the existing painted bike lane along Hornby Street.

• The removal of metered street parking on Hornby Street. The association cited the city’s 2002 Downtown Transportation Plan, noting it calls for “preserving on-street parking and traffic lanes whenever possible.”

• The possibility of outright bans of right-hand turns by motorists, particularly on Dunsmuir Street at Seymour and Hornby streets. The association said the bans would be “unfairly punitive to businesses north of Dunsmuir Street, especially when the volume of cyclists in the separated bike lanes is considerably low most of the day.”

• Introducing bike lanes in a “piecemeal approach” is contrary to the Downtown Transportation Plan. The lane will increase travel times for other modes of transportation, increase congestion and hurt the bottom line of businesses on or near the lane.

The business association urged city council to delay the Hornby Street project until monitoring is completed of the Dunsmuir Street separated bike lane, which was implemented in June.

The review of the Dunsmuir trial should focus on impacts to the downtown traffic network and to neighbouring businesses, said the letter written by Ultan Kampff, president of the business association’s board of directors.

“Measuring business impacts of new initiatives such as this should be standard practice,” Kampff wrote.

City staff isn’t likely to deliver a report to city council on the Dunsmuir Street trial until next year. Jerry Dobrovolny, the city’s director of transportation, has said staff wants to monitor the lane through different seasons.

The city has reported cycling trips along Dunsmuir increased from 500 before the route opened in June to an average of 2,000 per day, peaking at 2,500 one day in the summer.

The Courier reported last month that businesses along Dunsmuir are mixed in their support for the lane, which connects with the separated bike lane on the Dunsmuir viaduct.

Kampff noted in the letter the association has a track record of supporting and advocating alternative modes of transportation. He pointed to consultations which resulted in the Downtown Transportation Plan and included the recommendation for a network of painted bike lanes.

“We supported the proposal to build the Canada Line and were active participants in one of the committees that liaised with the businesses along the line to help increase awareness about the construction activity and provide input on programs designed to mitigate negative business impacts,” he wrote. “And as a last example, we were one of the first corporate sponsors of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition’s annual Bike to Work Week and remain a supporter.”

As the Courier reported Sept. 22, the Vancouver Board of Trade wrote a letter to mayor and council expressing similar concerns to the business association. Concerns included lack of consultation and a full cost evaluation of the economic, environmental and social impacts of the bike lane on businesses and delivery companies.

The estimated cost of implementing the separated bike lane on Hornby Street is $3.2 million, according to a city report going before council next week. The report recommended council implement the two-way lane.

Council is expected to vote on the recommendation at its Oct. 5 or Oct. 7 meetings.

mhowell@vancourier.com