Cycling or not in Hadden park
February 19, 2014
This article has been mainly written in November 2013, so could need to be read in the context of a still active law suit regarding the construction of a bike path in Hadden park . I have added further information made available in the interim
Is it legal to cycle in Hadden park (block 136-137)?
Like in most of the urban parks, cycling is prohibited in Vancouver parks, except on footpath or promenade specifically designated as a cycle path : Does such exception exist for Hadden park?
The cycle maps provided by different sources from City of Vancouver seem to be confusing:
The signs, along the seaside route, say a total different story again:
The real sanctioned route is apriori:
The Vancouver street and traffic by-law confirms this interpretation 
The lawsuit 
The Nov 2013 Megan Carvell-Davis vs City of Vancouver lawsuit states two important points:
- The City of Vancouver approved an “active transportation corridor” which mandates a bicycle path through Hadden park but requires the approval of the park board to approve the construction of the bicycle path
- The construction of a paved bicycle path through Hadden park is a violation of the term of the Hadden trust.
- This first point insisting on the bike path rational, tend to support the idea that the goal pursued by the construction of the bike path thru Hadden, is not for the enjoyment of the public, what is a first contravention of the Hadden covenant
- The second point claims that the bike path is an alteration to its present state of nature which is not reasonably motivated by neither park preservation, safety or enjoyment of the public
It will be probably an important legal point to demonstrate that either or not, a legally sanctioned bike path already exists or not in the Hadden park land under covenant (block 136 and 137).
It will be also eventually important for the petitioner, to demonstrate that the current use of Ogden avenue constitutes a reasonable, and safe alternative for cyclists to enjoy the current state of nature of the park, making the request for a bike path in the park an unreasonable alteration of it.
There is little question that cycling along Ogden allows cyclists to enjoy the park and the view it has to offer. The arrangement chosen to the under construction bike route along Point Grey road (near Trutch) will support the idea, that Ogden avenue is
- either safe enough for cyclist of all age and ability to cycle,
- or the city can modify Ogden avenue to achieve a desired safety without infringing the Hadden park covenant:
To give more strength to its case the petitioner has provided reference to a peer reviewved scientific paper titled ”Safe Cycling: How Do Risk Perceptions Compare With Observed Risk?”  (affidavit ). A paper, we have already studied here. What is important to retain for the case under trial is that this paper states that a “bike only path” and “residential street designated bike route” exhibit a similar level of objective safety (thought that the perceived risk is measured greater in the later case) as shown in this graph:
The petitioner case proved strong enough to have the City of Vancouver finally renouncing to fight against it on February 17th. That also makes the route alignment, thru the picnic area, in Kitsilano park, meaningless.
Main source is the lawsuit filled by 
 park by laws City of Vancouver, Jan 1st, 2008.
 Seaside Greenway Completion and York Bikeway (Phase 1 of Point Grey-Cornwall Active Transportation Corridor),General Manager of Engineering Services, City of Vancouver, July 16, 2013
 lawsuit filled by Megan Carvell-Davis vs City of Vancouver, on Nov 4th, 2013
 street and traffic by-law no. 2849, City of Vancouver, January 1st, 2014
 Route Infrastructure and the Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A Case-Crossover Study, Teschke K, Harris MA, Reynolds CC, Winters M, Babul S, Chipman M, Cusimano MD, Brubacher JR, Hunte G, Friedman SM, Monro M, Shen H, Vernich L, Cripton PA., American Journal of Public Health: December 2012, Vol. 102, No. 12, pp. 2336-2343.