Safety concerns remain on some of Vancouver's busiest bike routes, despite city improvements

Spring marks the start of commuting season for the city's fair-weather cyclists and advocates are warning newer commuters aboutsome ofthe trickiest sections alongVancouver's busiest bike routes.

Statistics from the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) listthe number of crashes involving cyclists, by intersection, throughout the province.

First on the list is the on-ramp at the north end oftheBurrard Bridge leadingfrom Pacific Street.

The data was gathered from 2013-2017andthe City of Vancouver has since rebuilt the intersection with the aim of reducing accidents.

"Burrard[and]Pacific was the highest-collision location in the city.... Very significant changes to that intersection have really made a big difference in terms of reduced collisions," said Lon LaClaire, director of transportation for the city.

LaClaire says statistics showing that theimprovements have increased safety aren'timmediatelyavailable.

The intersection with the second-highest number of crashes is atDunsmuir and Hornbystreets indowntown Vancouver. It's an area where two protected bike lanes meet and another whereLaClaire said recent changes have been made.

"In that particular location, the right turn [by cars]is banned ... we were getting low compliance with that right turn ban and that right turn was creating a lot of the collision types," said LaClaire.

The city's solutionwas to extend a median protecting the bike lane into the intersection to discourage cars from making turns, but it's routinely clipped by cars doing just that.

"It's really just sending a strong signal to the motorist which is more than just ... the sign which prohibits the right turn," LaClairesaid.

Navigating gaps

However Jeff Leigh, a cycling advocate with the non-profitHUB Cycling, said the area still has a major issue.

"The factor here is that the Dunsmuir bike lane ends at this intersection there's no protected bike lane heading west of Hornby[to Burrard Street],"said Leigh.

Instead, Leigh explained, there is a painted bike lane only on one side of Dunsmuir leading to the busy Burrard bike path. Cyclists trying to get from Burrard to the Dunsmuir bike lane attempt to get around the gap by either walking their bikes, riding on the sidewalk or riding illegally in the wrong direction up the painted bike lane to where the protected lane begins on the other side of Hornby Street.

"We've highlighted this to the city and one of the main things we need is a protected bike lane extended through to Burrard," he said.

"It's a hot spot because there's so many turning movements happening."

City making improvements

LaClaire said the city takes several factors into account when looking at which bike lanes need safety upgrades, including data from ICBC and local hospitals.

"Most cities around the world ... don't have a partnership like we have with the hospitals," he said.

"That's important because the majority for collisions for cycling don't involve an ICBC claim. They might be dealing with uneven road surface or poor lighting or some other factor that is contributing to that collision."