The report’s recommendations were broad, deep, and ultimately driven by forces that were intangible to the average urbanite — environmental degradation and a changing climate. And so, unlike bike lanes, it’s a battle that continues to be waged, almost 30 years later.
Before formal advocacy groups formed in Vancouver, small groups of people would gather informally to discuss conditions for transportation cycling. They were the first voices for change.
In the late 1980s, a small group of young environmental activists began to identify as a subculture people concerned about bicycles, and their place on the streets…and they began to build a community.
Two television shows appeared in Canada in the early 1990s, featuring a Vancouver bike shop owner who took it upon himself to get cycling onto the screen, and into the mainstream.
Despite the many formative events in the cycling advocacy world just before and after Expo ‘86, it wasn’t until the 90s began that the bigger picture began to come together.