June 24th, 6pm – the Bike Doctor

137 West Broadway, Vancouver (across from MEC)

Join the Bike Doctor for an Indian travel adventure. Based near the state capital of Panjim, Ulrike rode, wrote and photographed her time on two wheels for six months. Learn how to: stay cool cycling in tropical heat, drink Indian tap water, bellow “Let’s Go!” in Hindi, use a Goan pig toilet, cycle-camp, Indian style.

Ulrike Bemvinda Rodrigues writes about culture, cycling, travel, and magic for magazines and websites. She’s solo-cycled in India, Thailand, Laos, Cuba, Mexico, New Zealand and North America. She’s considering writing a  book.

 www.ulrike.ca, www.girlgonegoa.wordpress.com

A public open house to examine the prospect of a BMX track and mountain bike skills park in Vanier Park drew plenty of area residents and proposal supporters to the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium on March 31^st. Kits Points residents are saying ‘enough already’, claiming their part of town is inundated with fun-seekers, while bike park proponents under the Facebook banner of the Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition have a fearsome PR edge with the ‘eco-friendly, get the kids outside exercising’ aspect of their proposal.

 The project in question is a combination of jumps and berms made from dirt and clay, as well as wooden structures such as log rides and teeter-totters designed to train riders and build the skills necessary for tackling advanced trails on the North Shore. There are a number of other such skills parks in the Metro Vancouver region including five built by the local company of Hoots Inc.

 Although the meeting did clear up some misconceptions regarding the proposed facility (fears of gas-powered motocross events and X-Games sized spectacles were dispelled) residents weren’t necessarily mollified. While having little dispute with the proposal as outlined, Kits Point resident Gloria Sully expressed concern regarding “creeping incrementalism.” She’s worried the small quiet dirt jump park will one day be a much larger, louder venue. Another Kits Point resident, Kelly Johnston pointed out the proposal would mean loss of habitat for the Cooper’s Hawks and rabbits currently living in the unused patch of land. Judging by comments made at the open house, it appears unlikely the Kit’s Point Residents Association will be supporting the dirt jump park idea.

 Also on hand to get a sense of the scale of the proposal were Christopher Gaze and Rob Barr from Bard on the Beach. The annual Shakespeare play series raises its tents near the area where the dirt jump park would be built. Gaze notes that while they deal with the vagaries of outdoor theatre quite well, their concern is with noise levels or bright lights during performances. The Bard on the Beach series has a $3.5 million dollar annual budget.

Homeless people have also been taking advantage of the space as a camp. Where they will go when the area is cleaned up and turned into a bike park is unclear at this time.

Supporters of the proposal however, may have the strength in numbers and weight of public opinion to carry the day. Their Facebook group currently boasts over six hundred members and a dedicated community of riders eager to see a city-approved park in a showcase location. And, it’s hard to argue against a facility that gets kids of all ages and skill levels out biking in the fresh air. Even if the facility does prove to become a haven for drug-dealing, gang recruiting, and general youthful mayhem as critics are warning, its proponents are quick to point out the site can easily be bulldozed, decommissioned as a dirt jump park, and returned to its current state.

 Mark Vulliamy is the Manager of Research and Planning in charge of the proposal for the city. He was happy with both the turnout and the information he gained from the meeting. 

“People want planning to be done in a sensitive way,” he says. “There was strong support but also some strong anxiety.”

Vulliamy says they want to ensure there are no points of friction, especially with Bard on the Beach. He doesn’t want loud events competing with Shakespeare plays and says many people also want to ensure the woodland is protected. A desirable outcome, says Vuiliamy, would having the bikers who use the facility helping with stewardship of the surrounding area.

The open house also drew the attention of at least three Park Board commissioners. Sarah Blyth, Constance Barnes, and Aaron Jasper from the Park Board were seen at the meeting. All seemed supportive of the bike park proposal.

(dirt jump picture courtesy of Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition)

“It will make the chicken debate look calm,” notes Vancouver Councillor Geoff Meggs during the March 18th meeting of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. He’s referring to the expected protestations from drivers, regarding the hoped-for implementation of a two lane reallocation trial on the Burrard Bridge later this year… and referencing the uproar that ensued when council advanced the idea of allowing city residents to keep chickens. And while much laughter accompanies Meggs’ mention of urban poultry, everyone in the room knows the first few days of the lane reallocation may be the make or break moment for the proposal.

And if the trial doesn’t work out, cyclists can all buy water-bikes and still get across False Creek via pedal power without sucking exhaust fumes or dodging pedestrians!

Meggs’ comments come at the end of a report on trial preparations by David Rawsthorne, the city engineer tasked with the unenviable job of balancing the needs of advocates and critics, overcoming traffic flow challenges, and making the reallocation trial a reality. Rawsthorne is here on his day off, fielding questions and concerns from the Bicycle Advisory Committee, and asking the B.A.C. to make a motion formally supporting the two-lane trial. It’s the urban design equivalent of grunt work, the meetings and discussions armchair experts don’t have to engage in when proclaiming their ‘obvious’ solutions to improving a traffic network that moves millions of people around Metro Vancouver every day. Rawsthorne faces a friendly crowd tonight however. Committee members are eager to see this initiative gain momentum.

Two issues dominate the discussion. Identifying the feeder routes that will funnel cyclists to the bridge and ensuring communications between the public, media, and city representatives relay factual information and helpful solutions during the transition.

Advisory Committee members want to make sure that nearby bike routes aren’t flooded with drivers seeking shortcuts, a situation that could actually dissuade cyclists from the most sensible paths to the bridge and likely to raise the ire of area residents. They want the City to identify the best ways to get cyclists to the new lanes and make sure they’re clearly marked. Luckily, monitoring traffic and putting up signage is pretty straightforward. Good data and a small budget are all that’s needed to bring the bikers to the bridge.

Sharing the good news however, may not be as cut and dried. Meggs says council is going to need to know exactly how the trial is going from the outset. The media will be eager for comment. Critics will be ready and willing to exploit any flaws be they real or perceived. Everyone recognizes the threat to the trial inherent in a basic tenet of the news business. “Two Lane Trial Goes Unnoticed” isn’t the kind of headline encouraging one to take a free copy of the papers proffered by orange and green smocked human newsstands seemingly stationed at every busy street corner and transit hub in the downtown core.

And there it sits. No date has yet been set to take the matter before council, but the day approaches. When it does, judging from City Council’s interest in the process, approval seems likely. At that point, it’s a matter of a couple months to put barriers and signage in place and get the trial underway. A big change to the bridge seems imminent. This summer, be it a Point Grey gathering with canapés and champagne, or a Mount Pleasant kegger featuring quinoa and cannabis, determining whether that change is for good or ill is bound to be one hot topic.

I sent a letter to the Georgia Straight after Ted Laturnus got the physics of cycling way wrong–in a cruiser bike review he wrote in place of the usual auto-philia. But the editors left out all the good stuff. Below, the de-evolution of a perfectly good ‘pwning‘