At the end of May, the Vancouver Sun wrote about the intention of the Vancouver Police during June (bike month) to hand out ‘information tickets’ to cyclists who, by their actions, appear unaware of cycling laws.  Considering that the fines for ‘real tickets’ are not insignificant—$109 for eight of the nine main offences— and that the ‘information tickets’ list all the possible violations and their penalties, this temporary indulgence for apparent ignorance of the law seems generous and consistent with the goals of pro-cyclists.

The third annual Bike to Work Week—also Bike to School and, this year, Bike to Vote Week: May 11–17, 2009—sponsored by the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) is a kick-start for seasonal cycling commuters. The VACC website www.vacc.bc.ca lists the myriad benefits of increased cycling but “burn calories instead of gas,” from their summer 2009 newsletter is a good succinct summary.

The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) is a non-profit society dedicated to integrating cycling into the Lower Mainland’s transportation culture. VACC believes that increased bicycle use will “reduce traffic congestion, improve our health, and enhance our urban environment.”

A senior in her eighties, sent us the following: 

Step by step, the Greater Vancouver Regional District is creating a pedestrian/cycling pathway system with the potential to become the envy of other North American Cities. Currently, up to 17,000 Lower Mainland commuters are cyclists, comprising 2% of all daily trips in Vancouver. This is not a staggering number, perhaps not yet a “critical mass”, but it’s not insignificant and it seems to be climbing. A bigger, safer dedicated pathway system will no doubt help the growth of this positive trend.