Jeff Leigh was looking forward to Arbutus Greenway being paved with asphalt between the 10th and 37th Avenue bike routes before the end of August — just in time for HUB Cycling’s Bike the Night Ride on Sept. 16.
The family-friendly ride will take participants through the streets of Kitsilano and Shaughnessy, as well as along that part of Arbutus corridor.
The city had promised the section would be paved by month’s end, according to Leigh, until protesters convinced the city to stop work until consultation is held to determine what the temporary path should look like. A date or dates have yet to be set. [Consultation on the final greenway design, meanwhile, is expected to begin in September]
At this point, asphalt has been put down on Arbutus Greenway from 16th to 33rd, with loose gravel laid on either end between West 10th and West 41st. City staff, however, have promised HUB the gravel surface will be improved.
“Now it’s a soft gravel and they’ll be putting a hard-packed gravel on over the next few days on the sections [between 10th and 41st] that are not paved,” said Leigh, a spokesman for HUB. “We’ll then test that and make sure it’s a safe and adequate route for our event on the 16th.”
Reaction to the city’s decision to halt paving has been mixed, both online and through official city channels.
NIMBY's ruin everything. Arbutus Greenway asphalt paving put on hold https://t.co/NM9EnZNsMS #vanpoli #bikeYVR
— Christopher Porter (@cdnveggie) August 11, 2016
And again, that lack of public consultation arises: Arbutus Greenway asphalt paving put on hold: https://t.co/bFWmWX4ryb #vanpoli
— themsteri (@teririch) August 6, 2016
Between Aug. 5 and 11, 53 people weighed in by correspondence to the city — 28 expressed support for paving, 15 were against it, four were neutral or offered a suggestion, while six asked a general question.
Leigh told the Courier a hard surface is best for cycling.
“There needs to be a recognition of both what’s good for cycling and what’s good for walking and getting people on to an active transportation corridor,” he said.
“In terms of cycling, a hard surface is far preferred. What we find is it promotes the most usership — it’s what most cyclists would prefer to see and that includes families with kids and so on.”
He maintains it’s an open question what people would like for the walking path.
“I don’t think we have a strong position on what the walking path should be surfaced in — certainly if people want to walk on gravel, there is gravel there that they can walk on next to the paved path.”
Leigh pointed out when there is a gravel path next to a paved bike path, people who don’t like gravel, or who have mobility challenges, move on to the bike path.
“That’s what happened on the B.C. Parkway… When it was built with a gravel path and a paved cycling path, people just moved over to the paved path. So I think the challenge is if you create a paved cycling path, that for argument’s sake is half the width that’s there, and then say, ‘We’re going to do the other half as gravel,’ I’d be interested in how that will be managed.”
Leigh has cycled the paved portion of the route and says he hasn’t witnessed other cyclists racing down it. He said it needs to be used responsibly and the road makes more sense for faster riders.
During consultation on improvements for the south False Creek seawall, Leigh said there was discussion about whether it would become a high-speed commuter route if it was widened. The solution was to create an alternate high-speed route, which is the seaside bypass that goes down Charleson.
“By signing it and improving that route for high-speed cyclists, you leave the greenway for people who want to enjoy a more leisurely experience,” he said.
“We think that’s the answer. I don’t think you decide to keep people off by not paving it.”
HUB is encouraging its members to get involved in both consultation for the temporary pathway and for the final design.
Leigh said the organization will ask participants of its Bike the Night Ride if they prefer the paved or gravel path.
“Our goal is to get more people cycling, more often, and whatever accomplishes that is the way we’re going,” he said. “We’re not wedded to pavement or gravel. We’re promoting cycling as a transportation alternative. If our membership comes back and says, ‘We’re just as happy to ride on a gravel path,’ that’s fine. That hasn’t been our experience so far, but we really have to talk to our members and see.”
HUB has discussed ideas for its general vision for the final design of the greenway.
The vision talks about the route being a social experience, that it be sufficiently wide for people to ride side-by-side, that it has room for all users and that it respects heritage and different neighbourhoods.
“But it’s at a very, very high visioning level. I think we really need to get to a consultation,” he said. “We look forward to that consultation. These are very early ideas about what it could be. But we see it as an active transportation corridor that we need to have all user groups have a say in.”
@naoibh
