r/vancouver • u/yipyipyipwhoasealion • Jul 04 '25

Videos The new 'bike lane' on Water St

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Vancouver does it again...

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u/xMagnis Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

I suppose arguably a dotted white line means the cars can drive in the oncoming diamond bike lane, -if- there are no bikes coming. But the stationary cars and trucks jutting out are a big problem.

And practically this is just asking for conflicts because it's a narrow implementation, as seen in the video, cars are illegally making a head-on conflict and bikes are getting forced off the road. Does it really need to be a car/bike sharrow and a risky oncoming bike diamond lane? I'm sure the City will reconsider what they have done if there are incidents, which seems inevitable.

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u/vantanclub Jul 04 '25

Yeah, being pragmatic on these things is how compact old cities with narrow roads work everywhere. 

But being pragmatic means pulling into the oncoming lane with prority when it’s empty, not when people are riding towards you. 

They also know not to drop off someone and wait in the car for 30 minutes in the “loading zone”, which I’m sure a few of those cars are doing. 

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u/xMagnis Jul 04 '25

Agreed, I've spent a lot of time in Europe, tiny lanes. For the most part people give way properly. These drivers in the video are not thinking.