Vancouver City Council approved a new separated bike lane on Hornby Street tonight, which is the final connection for a safe, separated bike route through the downtown core.

“Over the past decade, car traffic into downtown has declined while our economy and population have increased,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “The only way we’re going to grow our economy is by increasing transit, cycling and pedestrian access into the downtown core.

“We’ve seen in cities around the world the economic benefits that come from increasing ridership into dense urban areas.

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Almost one year after a separated bike lane pilot project started on Burrard Bridge, the millionth cyclist crossed the bridge just after 10 pm Wednesday evening.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Over one million riders in less than a year shows that when you build safe, protected bike lanes, people of all ages will come out and use them. The Burrard Bridge bike lanes have been a big success and helped make cycling and walking over the bridge safer for thousands of people every day.

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Mayor Gregor Robertson and dozens of local cyclists biked the brand-new separated bike lane on Dunsmuir street Tuesday morning, celebrating the latest addition to Vancouver’s cycling network.

“With this lane, cyclists now have a safe, convenient route to and from Downtown Vancouver,” said Mayor Robertson, speaking with members of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition and Momentum Magazine. “This bike lane links to the Adanac Bikeway, and the Dunsmuir Viaduct to Homer Street, creating a safe, two-way route providing another way for people to move safely throughout our city.”

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This weekend marks the halfway point since the 2008 civic election, and City Hall is focussed on building on the successes of the 2010 Winter Games, says Mayor Gregor Robertson.

“Our city hosted an incredible Olympics and Paralympics, and the result is a growing sense of pride and ambition in Vancouver,” said Mayor Robertson. “We’ve emerged as a player on the world stage following the huge success of the Games, and our citizens deserve full credit for being gracious and energetic hosts.

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Since last year’s Earth Day, Vancouver has made significant gains in becoming a greener, more sustainable city, said Mayor Robertson, and that there is a lot more the City will be doing in the coming months.

“Only a few weeks after Earth Day 2009 the Greenest City Action Team issued its first report,” said Mayor Robertson. “The Team’s quick start recommendations set us on a path of immediate action and we made major gains in the past year towards becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020.”

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“We saw during the Winter Games that if we provide convenient alternatives to vehicle travel, people will use them,” said Mayor Robertson. “Separated bike lanes are a proven way to attract more people to cycling, and with these new protected bike lanes on the Dunsmuir Viaduct, cyclists now have a safer route into downtown.”

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