Kitsilano bike path plan runs up against court injunction

The City of Vancouver has agreed to abide by a B.C. Supreme Court injunction that halts the construction of a separated bike paththrough HaddenPark in Kitsilano.

In October, the city's park board approved plansto build a 3.5-metre wide path through the park, and through Kitsilano Beach Park.

The new bike path is intended tobe part of the city's Seaside Greenway, a plan to build a bike lane all around the waterfront from Canada Place in downtown Vancouver to Jericho Beach. Construction was expected to be completed by the summer of next year.

But opponents of theproject cameforward forcefully with rallies and protests after the plan's approval, saying the path's placementwill ruin the parks, which they say are meant more for people on foot.

Robert Kasting, who represents Megan Carvell Davis,says the injunction was filed to halt construction while the legality of the project is assessed.

Davis,a historian, brought forward information abouta special restriction on the use ofHadden Park.

"There's a trust by which the park was gifted to the city back in 1928, which requires that the park be left in its natural state," Kasting explained. "So the challenge to that resolution of the park board is that it's illegal."

Kasting said that the city's legal staff have been very co-operative after learningabout the potential restrictions on the park.

If a legal hearing does proceed in court,it won't take place for several months, he said.