Metro Vancouver was in the middle of its “Go By Bike” Week – and the country in the midst of a wildfire crisis – when the mayor’s ABC Party sent out a congratulatory tweet about the removal of most of a temporary bike lane from Stanley Park.
“More access to more users again,” the municipal party that forms the majority on Vancouver’s City Council and Park Board trumpeted on June 1, as it recognized the Park Board for its “hard work” on the matter. (…)
Yeah, the ‘accessibility’ argument really gets under my skin. Like they seem to completely forget that there’s a whole range of accessibility needs, and there’s lots of people who are physically unable to drive (and quite a few who probably shouldn’t) but who can walk, bike, or even operate a small scooter or other mobility aid.
They also love to call proponents ‘ableist’, like we’re expecting grannie to dress up in lycra and pedal her way to the park.
And finally, they’re arguing for changing a road with 1 car lane back to 2 car lanes. Not sure how that makes things more ‘accessible’ than they were before. I’d even be willing to bet that there’s been no significant change in travel times along the road since the switch.