In the News

VACC-North Shore in the News

January 22, 2012 North Shore News: Mapping the North Shore's bike routes

Cycling in the North Shore is about to become a lot easier. The North Shore committee of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition has received a $14,026 grant from Mountain Equipment Co-op to organize and produce a regional bike map for North and West Vancouver.

January 18, 2012 North Shore Outlook: Putting North Shore cycling on the map

A local cycling advocacy group is assembling its own bike-friendly roadmap of the North Shore and they’re calling on local two-wheelers to submit their favourite routes and detours.

December 14, 2011 North Shore News: MEC supports local bike project

Thanks to a grant from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition has received $14,000 to develop a pocket map of North Shore cycling routes.

November 9, 2011 North Shore Outlook: Unexpected lane change

Cycling advocates are accusing the District of North Vancouver of backpedalling on its transportation plan after district staff spent Bike to Work Week removing the bike lane from East Keith Road — grinding the gears of North Shore cyclists. The bike lane along East Keith Road, between Sutherland and Brooksbank avenues, replaced a second westbound car lane when the road was repaved in early October and had only been a bike lane for less than a month when it was scrapped and redrawn for cars.

July 13, 2011 CBC Radio One, The Early Edition : North Shore commuting experience with cycling and transit

VACC-North Shore committee member Tamiko Suzuki submitted her commuting experience to CBC Radio One in response to High Velocity, a weekly piece on bicycling issues. Tamiko's email was read on air and she won a cycling book! High Velocity is on CBC 690 AM and 88.1 FM on Wednesdays at 7:50am.

I live in North Vancouver above the Upper Levels Highway and work at BC Childrens Hospital in Vancouver. I have always HATED the commute—the frustration of dealing with traffic and the guilt at being a single occupant driver. Even taking the bus was a pain as it was twice as slow as by car. I came up with the solution of cycling to work—its faster than the bus, there’s never any traffic jams, it’s good for the environment and it’s good for the body—I don’t need to go to the gym!

My morning route starts with a quick zoom down the hill to the Seabus—I barely have to pedal!. On the Seabus, I relax with the newspaper and coffee or admire the scenery. Once at Waterfront station, I can either cycle to work or take the Canada Line to the King Ed Station and cycle the three blocks from there. The advantage of taking the Canada Line is I'm NOT wind blown or sweaty when I arrive.

For the ride home I can either retrace my steps to the Seabus and throw my bike on the bus to get up the steep hill in North Van or (usually) I cycle home via Lions Gate Bridge. I take the beautiful Sea Wall route if I am in a relaxed state of mind or, if I'm in a rush, the more direct but hectic route on the Dunsmuir - Georgia bike lane.

My final secret for bicycle commuting to North Van? I bought an electric assisted (BionX) bike! Now I can pick up a bottle of wine and a few groceries, charge up the hill (passing all those triathletes and Gran Fondo road racers) and get home with enough energy to start my second work shift—being a Mom and getting dinner on the table!

Tamiko Suzuki

May 4, 2011 North Shore Outlook : Cyclists propose new bike loop

A North Shore cycling group is hoping to get more bicycles on West Vancouver’s streets with a proposed new bike loop. The district is playing catch-up with other municipalities when it comes to developing bike-friendly infrastructure, said Peter Scholefield, Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition’s North Shore committee vice-chair. The majority of the municipality’s streets don’t have bicycle lanes and most are tight for space, he said.

April 29, 2011 North Shore News : Low Level Road hearing date moved to May 25

A delegation from the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition also came to council last week, asking staff working on the project with Port Metro Vancouver to give a second-look to lessening the slopes on the new road and adding barriers to separate car and truck traffic from cyclists.

The road is currently heavily used by cyclists as the only flat connection from Lower Lynn to Lower Lonsdale, said Heather Drugge, a North Shore member of the VACC. She said the proposed grades for the new road where the road rises from the intersection at Cotton Road to meet the new overpass to Neptune Terminals are too steep for many cyclists. "While I think there's going to be many benefits for cyclists, the major problem for cyclists is that it takes away our flat route," she said.

March 2, 2011 : North Shore News Letter to the Editor: Low-Level Road

The following letter was sent to the editor at the North Shore News on February 22th, 2011 regarding our response to the Low-Level Road re-alignment project. The letter was published on March 2, 2011.

Dear Editor

The Low Level Road Re-Alignment Project is a critical piece of the Pacific Gateway Program. The Low Level Road project objectives include increasing truck access to rail and marine terminals to facilitate increased importing and exporting goods. In addition, new train tracks with more capacity and increased marine transportation are planned. While contributing to economic growth, increases in all these forms of transportation will also contribute to increased air pollution, noise and truck traffic through our community.

February 8, 2011 : North Shore News Letter to the Editor: District of North Vancouver and JBAC

The following letter was sent to the editor at the North Shore News on February 8th, 2011 regarding our concerns about the District pulling out of the Joint Bicycle Advisory Committee:

Dear Editor

Cycling represents the fastest growing transportation mode in the City of Vancouver, where bike lanes and a coordinated cycling network promote and facilitate cycling. The three North Shore municipalities have all committed to increasing the number of trips made by bicycle to encourage healthy, livable and sustainable communities. However, the built cycling infrastructure remains patchy and does little to encourage North Shore residents to shop, commute to work, visit the library, or ride to school on a bicycle.