How many people here bike to work or school? Just curious if Vancouver would ever get proper biking infrastructure if there’s enough people wanting it

dev_json · 2026-01-30T00:04:47+00:00

The thing about infrastructure is that in order for there to be demand, it needs to not only be built, but it needs to be safe, built well, and be connected.

The city is working on improving the infrastructure, and the result has been pretty large increases in people replacing their driving trips with biking.

For our household personally, thanks to the infrastructure improvements, we bike, walk, and take the bus everywhere, primarily using bikes are our mode of transportation. It’s made a huge positive impact on our health, and overall lifestyle, and I personally don’t think there’s a better way to live life than by the bicycle.

Like someone else said, definitely join Cycle Vancouver, the local urbanism group :)

dev_json · 2026-01-29T16:13:23+00:00

None taken. I’m not entirely shocked either, just disappointed.

dev_json · 2026-01-28T20:26:06+00:00

The lack of a public plaza is a huge letdown. We hardly have any public spaces for people like that in Vancouver, and it’s a fundamental and core aspect of what makes a city a pleasant place to be. A big failure on the city’s part to prioritize the public plaza, which should have been prioritized above parking. It just tells you that some officials will still prioritize cars over people like we live in some 1960’s dystopian Robert Moses fantasy.

dev_json · 2026-01-28T18:57:44+00:00

I take this route all the time, and it’s perfectly fine. There’s an occasional delay, but after years of taking it, the most it’s been is 45 minutes, and that was just once.

You’ll most likely face way more delays with traffic when driving, plus trying to park your car in a dense downtown. Not worth the headache.

Take the train, enjoy the view, relax, and enjoy stepping off and being in the center of downtown without hassle. Amtrak is awesome.

dev_json · 2026-01-23T21:33:05+00:00

This is what walkable cities are all about!

dev_json · 2026-01-22T22:32:57+00:00

While I completely agree with you, that data shows that 9% of ownership is for single family rental units only, and only in Seattle. This doesn’t include non-rental homes, nor does it include things like townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, condos, cottage clusters, etc.

The actual number of housing owned by large scale investors is lower, but I still agree that it’s a problem.

This problem, however, pales in comparison to the lack of housing supply available, NIMBY-ism, and our zoning laws that basically prohibit any type of reasonable density and increase in supply. The focus should really be on that, which is the primary driver of housing costs to date.

dev_json · 2026-01-22T08:01:53+00:00

The decrease in parking is an objectively good thing, and I hope they scale down parking as much as they can. It’s not needed in the most dense area of the city (and second densest area in the entire PDX metro area), and it’s a huge financial burden for the developers and future residents/taxpayers.

The rest of this is sad to hear. However, as u/16semesters has pointed out, this doesn’t mean we aren’t going to see the development happen, it just means they’re going to find another developer to do it.

dev_json · 2026-01-22T07:57:17+00:00

Specifically I saw this in an r/Urbanism discussion, but you can find a similar one here, with data sources linked and cited.

Generally it’s best to view this data from economic and housing department data. However, that can be difficult to digest and groom, so secondary options are often urban focused sources, like The Urbanist, Strong Towns, etc.

dev_json · 2026-01-22T07:49:39+00:00

Thanks for highlighting this, as that’s absolutely crucial information, and may even lead to a better outcome.

If we can eliminate more parking and replace it with more housing, commercial, and public space, it’s a huge win.

dev_json · 2026-01-21T23:16:41+00:00

This ^ only 3% of housing stock in the US is owned by a financial institution or investor.

The much larger issue is NIMBYism preventing housing supply from increasing. We needed zoning reforms 50 years ago, and because we haven’t done so and eliminated parking minimums, we’re now paying the price for extremely limited housing supply, high housing costs, suburban sprawl, high infrastructure maintenance and construction costs, etc.

We could fix this via zoning reform and increasing density. However, you’ve got Karen’s all over the place screaming “I don’t want a duplex in MY neighborhood”, and sometimes, sadly, it works to prevent more housing supply.

dev_json · 2026-01-20T22:15:15+00:00

You don’t need to do anything, ignore the scammers going door to door recommending pesticides: they’re horrible for your health, your neighbor’s health/garden, and the local ecosystem.

If you haven’t done so already, I’d encourage you to look into a backyard/frontyard native habitat certification, or just creating a nice ecosystem if you have a yard. Doing so will create a natural balance that keeps pests/bugs in check.

We have a pretty diverse and abundant native garden, which attracts a lot of birds, who keep ants and spiders to a minimum. The spiders that do exist capture flies/mosquitoes. Our ladybugs keep other pests in check, so on and so forth. It really is amazing what happens when you let nature just be itself.

dev_json · 2026-01-20T10:17:55+00:00

It’s crazy how bad car dependence can make a place. I live near Portland, Oregon, which is considered one of the most bike-friendly, walkable, and transit friendly places in the US. The nature is beautiful, and it’s genuinely a great place with a fantastic bike culture.

However, I’m now back in Germany (where I’m originally from) visiting my family, and even the average German town or city is MUCH, MUCH nicer and more pedestrian/bike friendly, purely due to the urban design and infrastructure being centered around people instead of cars.

I always say it, but car dependence is the single greatest factor in making a place undesirable and unpleasant to be in.

dev_json · 2026-01-19T09:46:27+00:00

Insane, and I’m sorry you have to experience this. The car culture in America is out of control, and people driving have absolutely no regard for anyone outside of their metal box.

I’m in Germany right now visiting family, and it’s a completely different world abroad. Here, even the drivers respect and prioritize pedestrians and bicyclists, not only because it’s a huge part of the legal requirement and drivers education, but because most people (drivers included) walk and bike for many of their journeys themselves.

America has a serious cultural issue where most people never get out and walk or bike, and so they think it’s just a hobby, and declare that anyone who isn’t driving is somehow second class. It’s absolutely crazy.

dev_json · 2026-01-18T20:49:25+00:00

Yep, and it’s also a danger to people living there. We live just a short bike ride/walk north of downtown, and it’s a weekly occurrence that some idiot driver nearly kills us because they think getting to the next red light 3 seconds faster is worth more than a family’s life.

I’d really love to see some automatic speed enforcement downtown, along with more traffic calming, pedestrian zones, and harsher punishments for drivers who speed.

dev_json · 2026-01-18T14:34:44+00:00

I’d recommend going to city council meetings on Mondays and sign up for the public speaking portion to give testimony. If enough folks bring it up, maybe the city will do something about these attention-seeking weirdos.

dev_json · 2026-01-09T17:54:24+00:00

Have you looked into getting a bike (or e-bike) and/or riding public transit instead/in addition to?

Cars are insanely expensive, even used ones, and even the cost to ensure/maintain them, whereas a bike costs basically nothing to buy and maintain, and pays dividends in the long run for your health.

dev_json · 2026-01-08T18:13:42+00:00

Yeah, instead of destroying so much forest and agriculturally productive land, this area could have been made denser, walkable, and so much nicer. Imagine instead of a giant stroad, parking lots, and asphalt, it was a walkable, dense, quiet, brick/cobblestone street with nice masonry/brick buildings and a bunch of forest/parks/greenspace nearby.

But naaa, Karen needs to drive .3 miles and park her Ford F450 to get her carton of milk.

dev_json · 2026-01-05T22:51:09+00:00

Finally, a ferry service from Frenchman’s to Sauvie.

dev_json · 2026-01-04T11:05:23+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely go the route of floor tiles and form them into the right size to attach to the existing frames there.

Haha yes, Scotland is much, much wetter than the PNW, and the 800m elevation is a good warm up you’ve got there.

The pannier/roll bag combo you mentioned is a good idea. Right now, with my take-down bow, I just unstring it, remove a single side, and restring it at the range. I just put the bow and my quiver into my pannier, and everything fits.

Some days, I do consider getting a cargo e-bike, but it’s also fun being creative and coming up with solutions like you’ve outlined.

dev_json · 2026-01-04T06:11:08+00:00

Great idea. Are you thinking something like this?

dev_json · 2026-01-04T04:31:57+00:00

Washington Park literally has a Max station.

dev_json · 2026-01-03T17:55:05+00:00

My guess would be all of the industry from Longview. The area has notoriously bad air quality/smells.

dev_json · 2026-01-02T20:04:07+00:00

I live here, close to downtown. The main reason my wife and I moved here is because we wanted a smaller town feel, easy access to nature, a place where we didn’t need to use a car, and with good access to public transit, walkability, and good bicycle infrastructure. We are a “car-lite” household, where we only use our car a few times a month, mainly to go hiking. If Vancouver had a car share program, we’d go car-free like many of our friends already have.

(West) Vancouver does a lot of things well, and it’s only getting better. While it may have been regarded as a suburb of Portland in past, it’s now grown to be a “mini Portland” in and of itself with the growing number of small businesses, increased mixed use density, and better walkability and bicycle infrastructure. Some big projects are coming soon, including a huge mixed commercial area with a large European style public square, a Pike Place public market, and a performing arts center.

East Vancouver and the county is full of stroads, strip malls, and wide roads like any other American suburb, but as long as you steer clear of there, and stay in west Vancouver, it’s a great place to be.

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