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A former Non-Partisan Association city council candidate is calling on Critical Mass riders to “declare victory” and reform the controversial month-end bicycle ride in light of recent gains.

“I saw the point of it when there wasn’t any dedicated bike infrastructure, when there were no protected or separated paths,” Sean Bickerton, an occasional cyclist, told the Straight by phone. “But when we’ve got an integrated network of safe bike paths that are separated, I don’t understand how they can simultaneously insist on the right to take over the entire road infrastructure, tie up the traffic for an hour, endanger emergency vehicles, tie up needed police resources that are scarce, without any coordination, without a permit, without paying any of the policing costs that go with it.”

For these reasons, Bickerton feels, cyclists should “comply with city regulations and laws like everybody else using the roads has to do”.

Critical Mass sets off from the Vancouver Art Gallery at 6 p.m. on the last Friday of every month, with the number of participants varying according to the weather and time of year. The ride is often criticized because the route isn’t announced ahead of time, which would help motorists to avoid it, but is arrived at by consensus during the ride.

Brent Granby, president of the West End Residents Association and an avid cyclist, told the Straight, “A city is never just about the efficient transportation of goods and services; it’s also about celebrating the city itself and the values that we have.”

Granby, a regular at Critical Mass, disagrees with Bickerton.

“Fundamentally, I think he just misunderstands what Critical Mass is about,” Granby said. “Like in medieval cities, they would open up the town square and they would have celebrations, and they celebrate being together and they celebrate their values as a society, and that’s what Critical Mass is about as well.”

He added, “I don’t think it’s too much to ask on the last Friday of the month, and usually we’re only talking about four months in the summertime. It’s a great thing for the city. It’s tourism. It’s like the running of the bulls.”

Last year, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and police chief Jim Chu called for a predetermined route for the ride in a joint news release ahead of the July 31 event, but the idea was not implemented.