[Flash Walken]

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Remember all the controversy when the city started installing bike lanes downtown five years ago?

At the time, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association spoke out against the lanes, backing up its members who claimed lost parking would affect their bottom lines.

But the group that represents many merchants in the area is now singing a different tune.

“Times have changed, and it’s obvious that separated bike lanes [are] working in the downtown area and I don’t think any politician, regardless of what political party they’re with, would ever dare take them out. So they’re here to stay and we need to adapt. From an organization perspective, there are other pressing priorities for the organization than fighting separated bike lanes,” says DVBIA Executive Director Charles Gauthier.

He says the lanes seem to be bringing in an ever-growing number of people who choose two wheels.

“We want downtown to be accessible by all modes of transportation and I think if we say, ‘Well, we’re not interested in separated bike lanes because of this and that, we’re going to basically exclude ourselves from a growing market of people that commute to work by bike as well as people that are living downtown and travelling throughout the Vancouver area by bike.”

“We’re seeing obviously a greater demographic of people of all ages and abilities in the separated bike lanes because they’re obviously more safe and providing more comfort. At the end of the day, we don’t want to tell employers that we’re not accommodating maybe a portion of their employees that are coming to work by bike, nor do we want to turn away customers that are making that decision as well,” adds Gauthier.

He wants people to be able to get downtown by all modes of transportation.

http://www.news1130.com/2015/05/27/d...st-five-years/