On a balmy evening last June, a river of colour flows south up three lanes of the Burrard Street Bridge.

Bicyclists, hundreds of them, are jingling and swaying. They ride on mountain bikes, racers, tandems, cruisers, crazy choppers, kiddie bikes with their training wheels, bike-powered music machines, a bicycle-shopping cart hybrid, in-line skates and skateboards. June is Bike Month and this is the biggest of the year's "Critical Mass" rides. Organized by local bicycle activists, it starts off from outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on the last Friday of every month.

"Thanks for walking!" calls a smiling, waving woman from her bike to a group on the sidewalk. The walkers smile back with sheepish bewilderment. Occasional drivers in cars, coming from the other direction, toot their horns and wave hands thrust out of windows in apparent support.

The cyclists stop under the square arch of the bridge. Dismounting, they grab their bicycles and lift them in a wave of wheels and swinging handlebars above their heads-the "cyclist's salute." Excited shrieks, yells and ringing bells ricochet off the dusty, concrete abutments and latticed steel struts on either side of the bridge. Photographs are taken, and then, with the distant sound of car horns growing to a crescendo, cyclists peel off from the pack downhill to join Burrard Street for the slow climb up to Broadway.

This picture of happy, confident cyclists cruising blithely along is different from the lone, bowed pedal-pusher that motorists often find themselves swerving past on the road.

But the moment is tinged with added poignancy for those bicycle activists who for years have participated in traffic studies, workshops, meetings with city officials, and ongoing public debate, and have yet to see any improvement to what is one of Vancouver's busiest bridges for pedestrian and cycling use. One year later, as cyclists prepare for yet another Bike Month, and a repeat of the same euphoric mass ride over the Burrard Bridge, they await council's reaction to an upcoming city staff report on what changes, if any, will be made to the pivotal False Creek crossing.

"Burrard Bridge is Symbol of Civic Unity" declared a headline in the Vancouver Sun on the eve of the official bridge opening on June 31, 1930. It doesn't seem a symbol of unity now, though. Twelve years after the electorate voted for an upgrade to the Burrard Bridge, many Vancouverites hope a decision is imminent. But doubters suggest that with a civic election coming up this year it will be a long wait before we see a Vancouver mayor ride the first bicycle across a new Burrard Bridge cycleway, just as his predecessor drove the first car across the bridge back in 1930. While all parties agree that an upgrade is necessary for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, the debate continues over how the bridge can be upgraded while maintaining its heritage value.

Jane Lister was cycling home along the busy cycle-pedestrian route on the Burrard Bridge at rush hour when she swerved to avoid a pedestrian, fell off the raised curb, and landed in the path of a mini-van. "I broke all the ribs on my left side, and had punctured and collapsed lungs... my head kind of got trapped between the car and the curb," she told the CBC last year, in a highly critical story on the safety of Vancouver's pedestrian-bike lanes and the Burrard Bridge crossing in particular. Lister sued the city for damages and settled for an undisclosed sum out of court. Yet, in spite of this accident a few years ago and, say city staff, other incidents where cyclists have come off the path without serious injury, improvements to the Burrard Bridge have stalled.

Why has it taken so long, when city council states in all its news releases on transportation policy that pedestrians and cyclists are a top priority?

COPE Coun. Fred Bass, a regular cyclist, sums up the problem in one word: "Timidity."

For many cyclists, Bass exemplifies a progressive spirit at city hall. He sometimes rides on the monthly "masses" (he's even been spotted pumping the tunes on the pedal-powered music machine) and since selling his car two years ago has been getting around by bicycle most of the time. He'd like to see a more proactive approach on issues encouraging cycling. "The tendency of city hall is a very conservative one of seeing what current use is, rather than seeing where things are heading," says Bass.

The city staff report, which could be ready by the end of the month, lays out several options for the bridge's future. One expensive option supported by Heritage Vancouver involves slinging a pedestrian and cycle route under the bridge, which was originally designed for a low-level rail crossing that was never built. Apart from replacing the original decorative lamps that used to be mounted on the concrete railings with street lamps, the composition and outline of the bridge, with its distinctive towers and trussed steel arches, have changed little. Heritage Vancouver, a vocal opponent of bridge upgrades that would expand the sidewalk outwards for pedestrians and cyclists, wants it to stay that way and is even investigating ways to restore the original lamps.

Another upgrade option, which Bass advocates, is to give two traffic lanes to cyclists. He says it would be the most cost-effective solution and could even be in place within a month or two. But the business community is alarmed about the impact it would have on the flow of goods and transit into the city.

"City staff told us, in a presentation that we had to one of our committees in March, that there would actually be... conservatively a 100 per cent increase in traffic congestion," says the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association's Charles Gauthier, who is planning to commute once or twice a week by bike from his Marpole home for the first time.

Like many cyclists who support converting two lanes for bicycle use, Bonnie Fenton, chair of the bicycle advisory committee which works with city staff, wants council to make a decision and begin construction this year.

"I really hope it doesn't take a tragedy for them to decide to do something," she says.

Fenton believes a firm decision on the bridge would be an important symbolic and psychological breakthrough that would provide an added impetus to the committee's goal to increase the percentage of trips taken by bike in Vancouver to 10 per cent of the overall total by 2010. The current level is only three to four per cent. The committee says council reacted positively to a recent presentation of its plan.

"Their hearts are in the right place. It's just a question of putting their wallets there," says Fenton. Plugging gaps and upgrading the existing cycle network, improving bikes on transit, and better marketing of routes are some areas where Fenton sees room for improvement. "It's going to take a bigger vision, and a larger understanding and a real push to make this happen. It's not just building bike lanes. It's not just engineering solutions."

NPA Coun. Peter Ladner, a regular cyclist, reckons the city will have a realistic view of how feasible the 10 per cent goal is as a succession of new downtown bike routes open on Burrard (southbound), Richards, Homer, Hornby, Beatty, Cardero and Chilco. "A combination of high density development and protected bike lanes is a potent combination for increasing cycling," says Ladner.

As for where the "right balance" is between cyclists and other road users, as a driver Ladner is wary of appearing too punitive to motorists. On the Burrard Bridge question he favours the third option, which would widen the sidewalk outwards with a pinch point in the path around the central towers. He sees taking two lanes away from motorists as "an unfair trade-off" for the drivers and transit, especially with plans for restricting traffic on the north end of the Granville Street Bridge.

Paul Landry, CEO of the British Columbia Trucking Association, an organization that represents 800 fleets operating 13,000 large commercial vehicles, also questions the wisdom of removing existing road space. "Almost everything that goes into and comes out of Vancouver goes by truck, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to restrict our activity because it would be choking off a lifeline," he says.

Giving up road lanes to cyclists is understandably a touchy subject for the BCAA, too. Yet, it's a sign of the times-high gas prices, global warming, road congestion-that even an organization representing motorists is advising members to curb their car use. "People become very dependent on their cars, and as a result of that they see very few alternatives," says Trace Acres, corporate communications director and government affairs for BCAA. Acres points out that BCAA's own studies show that drivers in the Lower Mainland are "very open" to making fewer non-essential "discretionary trips."

Perhaps a case of the left hand not seeing what the right hand does? Then again, eco-minded organizations like Vancouver Co-operative Car Network, where irregular drivers (like Coun. Bass) share a small number of vehicles among a large number of members, also belong to the BCAA.

Richard Campbell, resident boffin on cycling for Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST), is in the process of moving 250,000 copies of Freewheelin', a new magazine-style guide with cycle maps for Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and Richmond. Cardboard boxes clutter the corridor of the non-profit's West Hastings office. It is just one of the many activities Campbell is involved in as BEST's director of active transportation. Campbell is also responsible for getting the word out about next month's Vancouver Bike Month, which sees myriad events, from the "Commuter Challenge" on Clean Air Day on June 8 to funky bike festivals across town.

In his simple office, he says that while council is already going further than the recommendations made by staff, "10 per cent by 2010" is going to require a "fundamental shift" in the way things are done at the city level.

"There is support, but it tends to be on a project-by-project basis. I think what is needed is some stronger policy. Give staff some clear direction about when trade-offs have to be made between vehicle access or, say, facilities for cyclists and pedestrians," says the casually attired Campbell, who is no relation to the mayor or the premier.

His sentiment is echoed by other bicycle advocates. Jack Becker, director of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, doesn't see civic politicians as the stumbling block. He suggests the people planning and implementing transportation projects need a "better tool kit" to achieve a sustainable urban transport system that compares with European models like Berlin, Munich, Copenhagan, or Amsterdam where trips by bicycle, rather than any other form of transport, including foot, are 10 per cent, 13 per cent, 20 per cent and 28 per cent respectively of the overall traffic flows.

Campbell cites proposals for the curling and aquatic centre development at Riley Hillcrest Park as an example where clear cycling policy would help. He expects the city plans for the development will create a surge of traffic moving along the central north-south Ontario bike route to the complex's entrance. "It's an ideal situation where if you didn't have that access there, or maybe even looked at closing the street to motor vehicle access on Ontario, you could really encourage people to come by bicycle, or by walking. But it doesn't appear that they are looking at that," says Campbell.

Campbell also believes the "green village" project at southeast False Creek, site of the Olympic athletes' village, is another example of confused planning. The proposed development of Southeast False Creek was supposed to have sustainability as its watchword. But bicycles are not at the forefront of the plans. "It was essentially designed around a grid for automobile access into each and every one of the buildings based on the principle that while people who take transit may have to walk two or three blocks to get to their transportation, people who use private automobiles, that theoretically we are discouraging, they get to drive right into the building, or they get to park right in front of it," he says.

He prefers an alternative where people would have to walk to parking at the development's perimeter, leaving the roads into "the village" clear for people and deliveries. "You're probably going to think twice: 'Oh yeah! Maybe I'll just hop on the streetcar, or maybe I'll just walk the whole distance as it's not really that far,'" says Campbell. "It is not surprising that people drive, because we're making that the easiest thing to do."

Campbell tempers his criticisms with praise. For a city of its size, he says, Vancouver is one of the most cycle-friendly in North America. He points out the network of cycleways that has been developed over the last decade, and plans for the cycle-pedestrian way on the new RAV bridge crossing from the foot of Cambie street to Richmond.

For several years, he has been a cheerleader for the Central Valley Greenway that will eventually run 25 kilometres from Science World to downtown New Westminster. Why is it so good? "It's the only option east-west pretty much that is mostly traffic-separated. Some sections are on road, but those will probably be pretty low levels of traffic. It is relatively flat, and because it parallels the railway line there's relatively few intersections, which means cyclists have to stop a lot less." It's also scenic. "It goes through a really nice part by Burnaby Lake and along Burnett River."

There's no doubt that the quiet application of organizations like BEST, the cycling advisory committee and Vancouver Cycle Coalition, have helped bring cycling to the fore in Vancouver. But promoting alternative transport can be a grinding and thankless job, especially for unpaid volunteers. Bev Ballantyne, of Putting Pedestrians First, who was one of the first to start lobbying for improvements to the Burrard Bridge, is an outspoken critic of the city's treatment of people who simply want to walk around the city. She's not surprised that pedestrian activists are few and far between. "It's not very sexy, is it?"

Conrad Schmidt, a former computer programmer and cycling activist, would probably agree. Having lost patience with the conventional activist route of petitioning and debating the nitty gritty of individual projects with municipal staff, Schmidt has been drawn to more theatrical happenings like Critical Mass which have more of an immediate impact. He was instrumental in making the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) an international event: the ride, which originated in Spain, was an off-shoot of Critical Mass, although this ride had the effect of slowing cars going in both directions.

Schmidt saw the potential to raise awareness in a fun, satirical way. The Wholesome Undie, where cyclists rode through the downtown in their underwear to show their disapproval of the Molson Indie, was successful in getting the message across because it was funny. Schmidt used the Internet to contact cycle groups around the world. They organized. "It wasn't very difficult," says Schmidt, who says over 60 cities will be participating in this year's "Northern Hemisphere WNBR."

Around 130 naked cyclists rode through Vancouver on the third ride of its kind last year, in spite of the rain. The media were out in numbers: many of course wanted to know if riding naked was uncomfortable. "It's more comfortable riding a bicycle naked without a seat, than driving a car," Schmidt says.

Cyclists come in all political hues. Take Kevin Falcon, Minister of Transport for B.C., re-elected May 17. Falcon, a self-described "avid biker," sometimes rides 10 minutes to his Cloverdale office, and often takes to the hills on his mountain bike. "I probably ride more than anyone in the legislature," he says, on the phone from Cloverdale. Falcon wants to encourage more cycling. He points to the province's Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program, which spent $2 million over 18 months on cycle facilities while splitting the costs with municipalities. It doesn't compare as well with the former NDP government's $2 million a year from 1995-2001 for municipal cycling projects, and the program was unfunded until last year by the Liberal government, but Falcon promises that there will be "significantly more" money for cycling under his watch.

But Falcon's plan to drive through the $3 billion Gateway Project, including twinning the Port Mann bridge and expanding Highway 1 to at least eight lanes from Langley to Vancouver, has eclipsed the cycling initiatives and aroused a storm of criticism, none more so than from sustainable transport advocates.

Groups like the Liveable Region Coalition, which includes BEST, acknowledge that there is a pressing need for a solution to ease the flow of goods along the congested Port Mann corridor. They argue for a range of alternatives to highway expansion and bridge twinning, focused on reducing the high number of single occupancy trips. They include introducing public transit across the Port Mann and upgrading rail infrastructure. The LRC calls Falcon's plan, chosen with minimal public consultation, a recipe for urban sprawl and greater congestion.

Councillors Bass and Ladner agree highway widening won't solve congestion along the corridor. "It's giving up too easily," says Ladner. "We know that it doesn't solve the problem, it just puts it off for another five or 10 years." Build wider highways, and the cars will come.

Undaunted by the opposition, and steeled by strong support from organizations like the B.C. Truckers Association, Falcon continues the hard sell: public transit can't be introduced without a twinned Port Mann. The same goes with bike paths and high occupancy vehicles lanes.

Falcon insists that getting people out of their cars remains a top priority. "It's one of the reasons I fought so bloody hard for the RAV line, because the RAV line means we are going to get 100,000 people out of their cars and onto public transit. It's the equivalent of 10 lanes of freeway coming into Vancouver." Falcon says his approach provides for those motorists who "use their car to make a living." He notes: "We have to be careful to understand that not every job is an 8:30 to 4:30 in Vancouver, with the house nearby."

To cyclists like Schmidt, Campbell, Fenton, and the mass of individuals that congregate on the last Friday of the month outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, the minister's plans cast a shadow over traffic calming initiatives in Vancouver. ICBC reports show that car ownership has levelled out and in fact dropped in Vancouver last year. But any increased road space for cyclists in Vancouver could start to evaporate with a greater influx of traffic from outside the municipality.

Campbell envisions the congestion that will be created along main roads forcing motorists down cycle routes and minor roads favoured by cyclists, particularly around exit points in Burnaby and Vancouver's East Side. As cycle routes become more dangerous, more people will drive their cars instead, and so the vicious circle continues.

Viewed beside the Gateway Program, the debate on the Burrard Street Bridge may pale in significance. But the underlying theme-how serious are we about reducing our car dependency-is the same.

Originally published in the Vancouver Courier.