Vancouver Park Board approves changes to Stanley Park Seawall bike paths

The Vancouver Park Board has approved a staff motion that seeks to make three locations along the Stanley Park Seawall more accessible for cyclists and those with mobility needs.

A staff motion on Monday sought to remove "maze gates" along the nine-kilometre-long trail circling Vancouver's biggest park.

The gates, also called speed gates, are two sets of barriers on a bike path, where cyclists are expected to dismount and walk through them for a short stretch where they share the path with pedestrians.

Staff said the maze gates are not accessible, as they create confined operating spaces and are problematic for those riding adaptive bicycles and longer vehicles.

Now, park board commissioners have voted in favour of removing maze gates at Lumberman's Arch and Third Beach, as well as changes to the shared path at Prospect Point.

"Industry best practices do not recommend the use of maze gates," said city engineer Joses Akampurira on Monday.

"Instead, alternative design solutions are suggested to slow down cyclists, manage conflicts and encourage desired behaviours."

The staff motion recommended a marked bike path, with a single pedestrian crossing, at Lumberman's Arch, with lean rails on either side of the bike path.

At Third Beach, staff recommended that the bike parking area be moved and used to separate the bike path and pedestrian path.

Staff said this would create a "chicane", a bend in the path where cyclists are expected to ride single-file and naturally slow down in the process.

The motion says that options were more limited at Prospect Point, which is directly along the sea at the north end of the park. There, pedestrians and cyclists share a path that is only three metres wide.

In this instance, staff recommended existing fencing be removed, and signage and pavement markings be used to encourage cyclists to slow down.

They also recommended the installation of a railing, which they say would allow pedestrians an opportunity to lean and leave the path free for others who are simply passing through.

"Without a railing on the outer edge of the [seawall], people often stop to enjoy the view from further back, constraining the path of people passing by," the staff motion reads.

The estimated cost of the changes is around $830,000, according to park board staff. The motion received unanimous support from park board commissioners.

Commissioner Tom Digby said that the park board had recently approved mobility scooters and e-bikes along the seawall, and the motion sought to encourage active mobility while minimizing conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.

"It's a tremendous amount of conflict on the Stanley Park seawall between pedestrians and cyclists," he told the meeting.

"And now that there's no interior bike lane on Stanley Park Drive, even more people are forced onto the seawall."

The approval of the motion on Monday meant that designs on the three areas will now proceed, with construction to start in 2027 if funding is approved in the 2027-2030 capital plan.