Vancouver City Council

BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

NOVEMBER 17, 2004

MINUTES

A meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, November 17, 2004, at 5:30 p.m., in the Strathcona Room, Sub-Ground, City Hall.

PRESENT: Brian Larsen, Chair
Jack Becker
Justin Berger
Colin Brander
Bonnie Fenton
Kari Hewett
Mary Sherlock
Kay Teschke
Ken Timewell

ALSO PRESENT: Councillor Fred Bass
Commissioner Suzanne Anton, Park Board
Jim Hall, Neighbourhood Transportation Engineer
Peter Stary, Engineering Services
David Rawsthorne, Engineering Services

ALSO ABSENT: Trustee Kevin Milsip, Vancouver School Board

CITY CLERKS OFFICE: Laura Kazakoff, Meeting Coordinator

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the October 20, 2004, meeting were adopted.

Vary Order of Agenda

The Committee agreed to vary the order of the Agenda in order to deal with Item 3 first, followed by Items 4, 2, and 1. Agenda items are minuted in numerical order for ease of reference.

1. Report of Bicycle Network Sub-Committee - November 3, 2004

Peter Stary, Engineering Services, distributed notes from the November 3^rd Sub-Committee meeting (attached), and provided an overview. Committee discussion and actions are summarized below under the specific topic headings.

(a) Granville Street Redesign Project

RESOLVED

THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends that Concept 1, being the "Bus-Auto Boulevard" for the Granville Mall redesign, as contained in the handout entitled "Granville Street Redesign Project: Interim Public Information Kit" be approved; and

FURTHER THAT bus lanes be a minimum of 12 feet wide to allow easier passing among buses and cyclists thereby increasing efficiency for both; and

FURTHER THAT the car-free blocks be retained or expanded.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
(Mary Sherlock and Kay Teschke absent for the vote)

(b) Chilco Bikeway

Mr. Stary advised this proposed bikeway will be brought back to the Committee for comment at a future meeting. It was noted that the issue of how best to deal with T-intersections and mini-parks along bikeways needs to be further discussed at a sub-committee meeting.

(c) Cardero Bikeway

This proposed bikeway was discussed.

RESOLVED

THAT the meeting notes from the November 3, 2004, meeting of the Bicycle Network Sub-Committee be approved and received for information.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
(Mary Sherlock and Kay Teschke absent for the vote)

2. Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan (SEFC ODP)

Karis Heibert, Planner, Central Area Major Developments Group, with the aid of graphics, provided an overview of revisions to bicycle/pedestrian strategies for the SEFC ODP arising from feedback received at the last Committee meeting.

Ms. Hiebert and Dale Bracewell, Transportation Engineer, Strategic Transportation Planning, responded to questions concerning the revisions to the proposed ODP.

The Committee discussed its previous resolution passed at the October meeting, with several members noting that it needed to be revised in order to respond to the new information presented at the meeting this day.

It was therefore MOVED by Colin Brander and SECONDED by Bonnie Fenton,

THAT the Committee's resolution of October 20, 2004, in regard to the Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan be reconsidered and rescinded.

CARRIED BY THE REQUIRED MAJORITY
(Kay Teschke not present for the vote)
(Jack Becker opposed)

Following further discussion, the Committee,

RESOLVED

A. THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee generally supports the cycling components of the current proposal for the Official Development Plan (ODP) for the Southeast False Creek lands; however, the Committee further recommends the following:

1. Target Transportation Mode Split for the Lands - The Committee recommends that the transportation network within the Southeast False Creek Lands be designed for a target mode split for cycling of 20%.

2. Seaside Path - The Committee recommends that there be sufficient physical separation between the cycling path and the pedestrian path, west of Columbia Street and East of Ontario Street, so that pedestrians will not stray over on to the bike path

3. Quebec St. - The Committee recommends that Quebec Street's final road design should provide effective cycling provisions for efficient commuter cycling.

B. THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends that the priority of pedestrians and cyclists be maintained in the road system to the school and to the community centre and that the street design should discourage student drop-off by parents using private vehicles.

C. THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends that bicycle parking requirements be upgraded for this area to accommodate a minimum 20% modal share split for cycling; and

FURTHER THAT bicycle parking at the proposed new school be convenient, secure from theft and vandalism, and conducive to personal safety, to serve as a model for district wide schools.

D. THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee supports the revisions set out below (1-6) to the bicycle/pedestrian strategies for the Southeast False Creek ODP, as presented to the Committee on November 17, 2004, as being a significant improvement to what was presented to the Committee on October 20, 2004:

1. Minimize conflicts along the Front Street bike path by eliminating hotel site and replace with commercial/residential use;
2. Expand the Front Street bike path width from 4 m to 4.8 m.
3. Ensure separation of any provision for school drop-off from the Front Street bike path.
4. Ensure generous shared pedestrian and cycling widths on the Seawall Path along the water's edge (range from 7.6 m to 10 m).
5. Expand the First Avenue ROW slightly (increase 0.5m), re-adjust dimensions for transit dedication (reduce .2 m), expand development setbacks on south sides (increase 0.3m) to achieve 3 m automobile lanes and 1.5 m bicycle lanes.
6. Provide dedicated on-street (south of First) and off-street (north of First) bicycle facilities on Ontario Street, separated from pedestrians.

E. THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends that the next phase of development of the Official Development Plan should include a high degree of traffic demand management processes to further the goal of sustainable transportation within the community to aid in achieving the target of 60% non-automobile traffic in the Southeast False Creek neighbourhood.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

3. Engineering Services Cycling Work Program

Jim Hall, Neighbourhood Transportation Engineer, provided an update on this matter as contained in his memo addressed to the Committee dated November 3, 2004 (attached to Agenda - on file). Mr. Hall noted that if the Committee was not prepared to provide its recommendations today, that his report to Council on this matter could be put off until January.

Jack Becker distributed an updated proposed list of priorities for the Committee's discussion and consideration.

The following is a summary of comments made during Committee discussion:

· one member noted she would like to see more off-street facilities put forward; it was also suggested to look at how other cities provide separated on-street facilities;
· the need for set criteria was discussed, for example, current demand, potential demand, and safety;
· one member noted that downtown bridges should be the first priority;
· a member queried whether any of the funds provided for Olympic 2010 legacies was earmarked for cycling;
· in response to a comment, staff noted they were hoping to be able to include an insert about cycling with the next tax notices, and are also working with BEST on an insert for local papers.

It was agreed to have an informal meeting on Wednesday, December 1^st, in order to discuss this matter further and bring forward some formal recommendations for the Committee to consider at its December meeting.

4. Point Grey Road

Dave Kim, Neighbourhood Transportation, Engineering Services, with the aid of graphics, provided an overview of three options for improving the access to the Seaside bike path from Point Grey Road at Jericho Beach Park. Many cyclists currently gain entry to the park by maneuvering between parked cars and over a sidewalk. He noted staff's preference was to direct cyclists further west to the end of Point Grey Road, where an existing gate would be replaced by a bollard, enabling easy access to the pathway.

RESOLVED

THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee supports the proposal for an improved access to the Seaside bike route via the western terminus of Point Grey Road at the entry gate to the Jericho Beach Park.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
(Kay Teschke not present for the vote)

MOVED by Jack Becker
SECONDED by Colin Brander

THAT the Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends that the section between the western end of Point Grey Road through its intersection with the Seaside bike route and also to the concession stand be paved.

LOST
(Kay Teschke not present for the vote)
(Justin Berger, Colin Brander, Bonnie Fenton, Kari Hewett, Brian Larsen, Mary Sherlock and Ken Timewell opposed)

5. Correspondence

A folder of correspondence received was available for viewing.

6. New Business

None.

Next Meeting:

Wednesday, December 15, 2004
5:30 p.m.
Strathcona Room
Sub-ground, City Hall

The Committee adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

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