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Guess who is 10! Happy birthday, Burrard bridge bike lane: today marks 10 years since the Burrard Bridge bike lane opened. Let's take a casual bike ride back through time and look at the calm, nuanced media commentary that greeted the plucky bike lane in 2009 #vanpoli
Quick refresher: 6 car lanes on the Burrard bridge went down to five, to enable separated bike lanes to keep people from falling into traffic. Months of media hysteria that it would be a complete disaster. it would fail within days! #vanpoli
Political opponents tried to get 'Gregor's gridlock' to become a catchy slogan (lasted about as long as 'who let the dogs out'.) Radio pundits predicted Mayor and Vision would be trounced in next election. Nobody bikes! It rains! Social engineering! Radical green agenda! #vanpoli
On first day, morning commute had news choppers flying overhead. CKNW set up a live booth on Burrard at Drake to talk live to all those angry commuters stuck in traffic. ARE YOU MAD CALL IN NOW AND GIVE US A PIECE OF YOUR MIND NOW HERE'S A RADIO AD FOR ALARM FORCE #vanpoli
The Burrard Bridge bike lane media commentary has aged really well. Vancouver Sun: BURRARD BRIDGE BIKE LANES DOOMED TO FAILURE. Not just won't work: DOOMED TO FAIL. Like a curse. #vanpoli 
Jon McComb at CKNW was having none of it. The bike lane is a "battle for the hearts and minds of city residents." Totally. Like the Cold War. Communism and capitalism, except with spandex #vanpoli
More classic McComb. A "disaster" that awaits commuters. "three month trial project is going to evoke howls of outrage so loud and angry, you won't need a radio to hear them." "SOCIAL MANIPULATION MADNESS" #vanpoli
Top story on Global news the night before the launch. Includes a charming clip of a tour bus driver saying the Mayor should be hanged over the bike lane that had not yet opened. Shout out to my boys at City Caucus who saved the video! #vanpoli
Jon Ferry at the Province: "Sucking up to bicycling minority may cost Mayor his job." Nailed it #vanpoli
More good stuff from The Province. CHAOS FEARED. I'm getting nervous just re-reading these. THERE IS CHAOS COMING AND IT IS COMING FROM BIKES ARE YOU SCARED YET #vanpoli
Spoiler alert. The bike lane launch was smooth, and the traffic chaos never materialized. It ultimately became a huge success and was instrumental in making Vancouver a leader in North America in cycling #vanpoli
2 months after the bike lane opened, cycling numbers had jumped. BUT THAT'S JUST THE SUMMER, said critics. Wait for the cold weather. Then you'll see! #vanpoli
Burrard Bridge bike lane continued to grow in popularity. Multiple years of smashing ridership records #vanpoli
Burrard bridge bike lane project so successful it was written up in academic journals as a case study on how to deliver difficult public policy #vanpoli
And now, it's been named the busiest cycling route in all of North America. Happy ten year birthday, burrard bike lane! #vanpoli
City engineering staff did an amazing job working out the design details of the Burrard bike lane. And they were under incredible scrutiny as drivers drove past during construction - and bore lots of verbal abuse from irate drivers. could never thank them enough #vanpoli
.@MayorGregor's leadership was critical."Robertson exerted the sort of political leadership that had been lacking during previous attempts...Robertson remained firm in his commitment to go through with the Burrard project." citylab.com/equity/2014/12… #vanpoli
Without the success of Burrard bridge bike lane, there wouldn't be safer cycling and pedestrian routes now on Cambie bridge, Dunsmuir, Hornby, Union, Helmcken, Pt Grey, or west 10th. Definitely no public bike share. Remember that the next time you ride over it! #vanpoli
