Willingdon Greenway concerns raised

As the proposed Willingdon Greenway linking Brentwood Town Centre and Willingdon Heights continues to move forward, a local cyclist group is raising some concerns.  The greenway will run along the the east side of Willingdon Ave between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.  The current design will require cyclists and pedestrians to use the same path whereas the cycling advocacy group HUB is suggesting 2 separated paths along the greenway.

Burnaby Now story below

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

Path problems: Moreno Zanotto, a member of HUB Burnaby and the City of Burnaby’s transportation committee, is unhappy with the city’s proposed Willingdon Greenway, which would be a shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists travelling between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.   Photograph By Jennifer Gauthier

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

CAYLEY DOBIE / BURNABY NOW

OCTOBER 6, 2016 10:59 AM

Cycling advocates in Burnaby are standing firm against a proposed shared pathway that would link the future Brentwood development to Hastings Street.

HUB Burnaby, the local branch of a non-profit organization that promotes cycling in the community, is calling on the City of Burnaby to rethink the design for its proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The current design is a 1.2-kilometre multi-use pathway that would be accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists. It’s proposed to run from Brentlawn Drive to Hastings Street, connecting Brentwood Town Centre to the north part of the city.

There are already several similar urban trails throughout the city.

In the past, HUB Burnaby has sat back as the paths were constructed, but enough is enough, according to Moreno Zanotto, a HUB Burnaby member and a representative on the city’s transportation committee.

“Their effectiveness is predicated on their non-use. So as long as pedestrian volumes stay really low and cyclist’ volumes stay really low, they can work, but as soon as those numbers start increasing, the number of conflicts between road users explodes,” Zanotto told the NOW.

The main concerns with the proposed Willingdon Greenway are safety and growth of transportation modes like cycling and walking, Zanotto said.

Chances of a collision are especially high with cyclists travelling at higher speeds than pedestrians and even more so if they’re forced to dodge other obstacles along the four-metre-wide path, including benches, park spaces and art pieces as proposed, Zanotto said.

A shared path will also discourage prospective cyclists from using the greenway as a commuter route, he added.

Currently, less than one per cent of trips within the City of Burnaby are made by bike, and it’s been that way for at least the past 30 years, according to research conducted by HUB using data from TransLink. During that time, the city has focused on urban trails, Zanotto said.

“It’s not an effective facility in increasing cycling, and we’re not seeing growth,” he said. “We need a new approach.”

Zanotto, who lives in the Heights, said he wouldn’t use the proposed greenway unless it was the only option. Instead, he and other cyclists in the area prefer the Sea-to-River Parkway that runs north to south along Carleton Avenue.

What he’d like to see along the Willingdon corridor is a separated bike lane like those in Vancouver or European countries like the Netherlands.

“They’re not only safer, they represent really good choices for encouraging cycling,” Zanotto said.

HUB Burnaby is currently circulating a petition asking the City of Burnaby to build a separated cycle path on the Willingdon Greenway. The petition is aiming for 100 signatures before it's presented to council. So far, 21 people have signed. To sign the petition and learn more about what HUB's proposal for the greenway, click here.

On Sept. 14, the City of Burnaby held an open house to provide residents with more information regarding the proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The NOW contacted the City of Burnaby for details on when the project would go before council but have yet to hear back.

© 2016 Burnaby Now

Burnaby leading in bike lane planning

I've mentioned before that making the area more cycling-friendly would make the neighbourhood better.  The following post by Richard Campbell mentions that Burnaby is leading the way in planning for cycling infrastructure and how it will infold in and around the city's developing town centres.

(The article and accompanying photo are from Richard Campbell's website)

Burnaby Leads in Including Separated Bike Lanes in Street Plans

The City of Burnaby has had the foresight to include separate bike lanes in its street plans for Lougheed and Willingdon in Brentwood Town Centre. As new developments are completed, the separated bike lanes are built adjacent them. As shown, in the photo, the first section on has been completed on the south side of Lougheed a block or so west of Lougheed.

This is a cost-effective method to adding bike lanes that doesn’t impact other users that much if at all. The downside, of course, is that it can take decades to complete the bike lanes leaving gaps in the meantime.

In this respect, Burnaby is leading Vancouver which has yet to include separated bike lanes in the street plans for the majority of arterial streets although there proposals to include them on the streets adjacent to Oakridge Mall and along Great Northern Way as part of the Central Valley Greenway. Still, there are no plans to include separated bike lanes on obvious streets such as Main and Kingsway. Main has a high number of cycling crashes which should make it a priority for improvements. Kingsway, along with streets including Burrard south of 1st, Nelson and Smithe were identified as candidates for bike lanes way back in the 1997 Transportation Plan. Burrard south of 1st will be torn up in 2015 for waterworks. This would be an ideal opportunity to add separated bike lanes at a low cost while minimizing traffic disruption.

As the majority of shops and businesses as well as an increasing number of homes are on main streets, separated bike lanes along them are critical to enable people of all ages to safely, conveniently and comfortably use bicycles in their daily lives. 

October 25, 2013 by Richard Campbell

Lack of bike lanes not only impediment to cycling

As the City of Vancouver battles with anti-bike lane elements over the sometimes inappropriate placement and location of bike lanes and now attempts to fund an expensive albeit well-intentioned bike-sharing program, it appears to be ignoring a major deterrent to both long and short-distance cycling trips; bicycle theft.

Like a plague, bicycle theft has arguably been one of the biggest obstacles to cycling in Metro Vancouver and the problem shows no signs of going away.  This problem exists because our officials not only lack the ability to consider practical, new solutions that exist outside the limited lens through which they perceive the world, but because they are unable to even see what other places around the world have done to tackle such issues.

If cities like Vancouver are willing to spend millions of dollars to set up and fund bike sharing programs that will inevitably struggle with the problem of theft and vandalism, perhaps they should first commit such funds towards partnerships with existing or new businesses to set up secured bicycle storage facilities that can be used by cyclists for a nominal fee.  For someone that has had their bicycle stolen while locked on 2 occasions, both of which have deterred me from using my bike over the past decade, I would gladly pay a fee to ensure that my bicycle will still be there in its entirety when I return to it.

Currently, the bus loop next to Brentwood Station (as do some other SkyTrain stations)  has rentable bicycle storage lockers provided by TransLink.  These lockers prevent thieves from even taking parts of bicycles as they are completely covered from view and reach.  The lockers cost $10 per month which is a reasonable price.  However, flexibility is limited as you are able to only use the one locker only at that one location which limits your possible destinations to that one area. Such lockers are essentially only good for those that need to bike to a SkyTrain station to commute for work on the train and if that is your only cycling need, this bike locker program is perfect.  But what about everyone else that would like to use their bicycle to get to various destinations?

In Tokyo the following types of pay locks exist where users pay per use to ensure that their bicycles are safe.  They are free for under 2 hours of use and cost $1 for every 6 hours of use.  Once the bicycle is rolled onto the rack, a lock is automatically triggered.  The user then goes to the pay machine where they receive a code after entering the bike lock number. When they return, they are able to enter the code given and take their bicycle either for free or for the appropriate cost if they've used the lock for more than 2 hours.  This might work in a place like Tokyo but in a place like Metro Vancouver where bike-theft-culture abounds, it wouldn't work so well unless the concept is tweaked to prevent bike part-theft and to prevent vandalism of the pay machines themselves.

Such a city program in collaboration with private security companies that can monitor a modified version of the above pay-per-use bicycle locks or a collaboration with TransLink to expand the current bike locker program would be a far better and safer investment of tax-payer dollars than a bike-share program that is open to various problems including theft and vandalism.

While creating more dedicated and designated bicycle routes to increase safety and cycling is a good idea, the issue of theft will only limit the use of bicycles to mainly recreational purposes instead of for other daily life uses.

The election has come and gone...

...and believe it or not, many may not even have known what kind of election it was let alone have been aware of it at all.  Once again, the participation rate was around 25% of eligible voters.  For some reason, 75% of eligible voters don't feel that voting is important enough to set aside some time.  Enough of my frustrated ranting about voter apathy.

The next 3 years will continue to see changes occurring in the Brentwood area as the city continues to build up the density here.  The Brentwood Mall redevelopment will be the largest project in the area, if not Burnaby and will be an opportunity for local residents to share their concerns and to provide input into what they would like to see for the redevelopment.  This is where the public's direct input can have a direct impact on how the Brentwood area will evolve if enough people have their collective voices heard.

The Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan envisions creating a pedestrian-oriented development according to the City of Burnaby website.  Even with such a bold statement being made, citizens should question what criteria was used to envision a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood.  We should question whether or not the criteria used is current or out-dated.  Is the current criteria for sidewalks good enough to meet the standards of a walkable neighbourhood?  What was considered to be pedestrian-friendly in the 1990's may no longer be good enough to meet our expectations in 2012 and beyond.

Cycling infrastructure must go hand-in-hand with the development both within and outside the Brentwood area as it will become more of a hub of activity for people living in the surrounding areas located outside the Brentwood Town Centre zone.  The widening of Willingdon Ave between Lougheed Hwy and Hastings St is part of a Provincial Government plan to increase traffic flow in the area. Although I don't believe that it is the best idea to add another lane on Willingdon Ave, it should be an opportunity for Burnaby to initiate a collaboration with the Province to build a cycling and pedestrian thoroughfare alongside the widened Willingdon Ave to connect Brentwood to the Burnaby Heights area to the north where community amenities at Confederation Park could be accessed by walking and cycling.  The pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare can be separated by barriers and vegetation to create a buffer along its length to provide an element of safety for pedestrians and to minimize the impact of the road widening on the homes immediately to the east of Willingdon Ave in the Brentwood Park area.There is currently no direct north-south pedestrian or cycling route on either side of Willingdon Ave between Burnaby Heights and Brentwood.  Accessibility between neighbourhoods should not be built around automobiles alone and the addition of a pedestrian/cycling path would begin to remedy the decades-long automobile-centered growth that we continue to witness as I write this post.

Houses along the east side of Willingdon Ave have gradually been torn down to make way for another traffic lane between Lougheed and Hastings.  There should be ample space to add a pedestrian/cycling lane alongside the new lane which would greatly improve the look from its current state of pedestrian unfriendliness.

The Brentwood neighbourhood is going to look much different 10 years from now and the space allocated for pedestrian infrastructure built today must meet our needs 20 years from now and beyond.  It would be a big mistake to not consider our needs decades into the future as it would be more costly to impose harsh reactionary measures later on due to the lack of foresight by our planners today.  The pain of change being felt in neighbouring Vancouver is an example of what I am talking about as the struggle between car-users and cyclists rages on in Downtown.

The City will not know what is expected of its citizens if enough people do not participate in public hearings related to development projects.  The public hearings held at Burnaby City Hall should be standing room only with a steady stream of input and ideas as to what the citizens expect with the Brentwood redevelopment.  People need to start thinking about it now well before the project is announced.  Automobile traffic, walkability, cyclability and density are issues that immediately come to mind.  What do you think?  What needs to be done and what do we need to make Brentwood a complete neighbourhood?

Cycling lanes are not the problem

I've mentioned cycling-friendly infrastructure as one of the features that would make the Brentwood area better. The benefits of allowing people to be more comfortable getting out into the neighbourhood on their bicycles when running errands or going for a coffee are well documented. The environmental and health benefits of cycling are well known.

The recently-built cycling lanes in downtown Vancouver have created an uproar from drivers and businesses. In particular, businesses along the length of the the Dunsmuir and Hornby bike lanes have complained about a drop in customer traffic due to the loss of parking spaces that gave way to the bike lanes.

If the decision makers had taken the time to consider all possible options when designing the bike lanes, they would have foreseen the flaw in the current design and would have been able to retain street parking while building the lanes. Instead of being placed on the street between the sidewalk curb and the car lane, the bike lanes should have been placed on an extended/widened sidewalk with barriers separating cyclists from both pedestrians and automobile traffic. Both the sidewalk and the car lane would each lose a couple of feet or a combination thereof, and the parking spots could still be located along the street.

A simple rearrangement from the current setup would have resolved the parking issue for businesses as they would not have lost on-street parking. Of course, with space already limited in the downtown core, the suggested design may pose challenges there. In my opinion, this is a challenge that the city should have attempted to overcome.

The Brentwood area does not have the same space constraints as downtown Vancouver. Because the City of Burnaby still has the luxury of space in its town centres, it must consider building cycling lanes between on-street parking and the sidewalk, allowing for on-street parking to remain. This is not a new concept as it is used elsewhere. As the following image I found at cycletoronto.blogspot.com shows (below right), cycling lanes do not have to compete with parking space at the extreme level shown by their construction in downtown Vancouver:

The City of Vancouver could have spared itself from the ire of those negatively impacted by the poorly-designed cycling lanes by doing a little research online at the above mentioned cycling blog. Hopefully the City of Burnaby is not deterred from adding cycling lanes along commercial streets in areas like Brentwood just because of the problems that Vancouver has created with its cycling initiatives.