Almost three months since it opened, the city's first-ever downtown bike lane protected by barriers continues to receive mixed reviews from business owners.

But cyclists continue to love it.

The Dunsmuir Street bike lane runs between the Dunsmuir viaduct and Hornby Street and is protected by three types of barriers--planters, parking spots and concrete medians.

On the day it opened in June, Bahman Afshari of Fresh Slice Pizza on Dunsmuir told the Courier he was optimistic the lane wouldn't affect his business.

The Courier visited Afshari last Friday while he served customers during lunchtime. Fresh Slice is located a few steps from Seymour Street, which is home to many language schools. "It hasn't affected my business, at all," said Afshari, who believes the city should make the lane permanent. "There's less stress for the cyclists, for the people walking in the street and for the drivers, too. People who have an office here are telling me they should start using their bikes to get here."

Afshari, who rides an electric scooter, said the planters outside his restaurant are nicer to look at than cars. And when he has time, he waters the flowers, he said.

Two blocks east on Dunsmuir, across the street from Holy Rosary Cathedral, Michel Blais has a different take on the bike lane. Get rid of it, he said.

Blais owns Frenchies, a restaurant that specializes in French Canadian fare such as smoked meat sandwiches. He opened the restaurant and neighbouring Michel Blais Gallery in January.

Blais said he closed the gallery this week because he didn't sell one piece of art, including paintings from several high-profile Quebec artists. Paintings ranged from $3,000 to $40,000.

He believes the bike lane contributed to the gallery's demise. And, he said, business at Frenchies is down about 20 per cent since the lane opened in June. "Who the hell is going to ride a bike here and put a painting on their back?" he said, noting he rarely gets cyclists in his restaurant.

The city took away parking spots outside his restaurant to accommodate the bike lane. He said many of his customers drove a vehicle to buy his food. "Now people are telling me there's no place to park."

The city's assistant engineer Jerry Dobrovolny said bicycle trips on Dunsmuir have increased from 500 before the lane opened to an average of 2,000 per day.

Blais doubts the city's statistics, saying maybe 200 cyclists per day use the lane. Regardless, he said, cyclists shouldn't get their own lane.

"Wait until winter time. You won't see any bikes out there."

Unlocking her bike from a rack between Seymour and Granville streets the same afternoon, Shelliza Mohammed recalled her commute used to take 30 minutes before Dunsmuir became a protected bike lane.

The Strathcona resident used to work as a physician at St. Paul's Hospital. She avoided Dunsmuir because she believed the route was too dangerous. When the lane opened up, she switched from her roundabout route to Dunsmuir and it took her 12 minutes.

"Can I tell you what a fan I am of this lane," said Mohammed, who was joined by her husband, another cyclist supportive of the lane. "It's fantastic for bikers and makes the downtown core more accessible on two wheels."

The city continues to monitor the Dunsmuir lane and engineering staff will provide an update to city council in the fall.

mhowell@vancourier.com