The City of Vancouver is piloting a crosswalk downtown that lets pedestrians cross in all four directions at once.
As of Thursday, the corners of Robson and Hornby streets will now be an "all-walk" crosswalk, allowing pedestrians to use all four crosswalks simultaneously, while all vehicle traffic is stopped by a red light.
It's part of the city's "Vision Zero" strategy to improve pedestrian safety and eliminate traffic-related deaths.
The city says, during a busy hour, about 2,500 pedestrians pass through the area, which includes a permanent plaza in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery that's under development.
The all-walk crosswalk differs from a scrambled crosswalk, which lets pedestrians cross diagonally.
The city opted out of that option because of the traffic that turns left from Robson on to Hornby.
"We didn't want to have pedestrians cross and think that they can cross diagonally when there's a vehicle turning," said Winston Chou, manager of traffic and data management with the City of Vancouver.
Chou said a scramble crosswalk is still possible, but it would mean closing the south crosswalk or stopping pedestrians from crossing as cars turn left from Robson.
City staff will analyze the traffic impact over the next few months.
The city is considering installing the same crosswalk soon at the intersection of Howe and Robson. Chou said they'll consider other spots with high pedestrian volume and turning conflicts.
The Robson-Hornby intersection is also now outfitted with accessible pedestrian signals, which include audio cues that guide blind or partly blind people to the pole's push button.
Proponents of a landmark bike lane in Vancouver are using its 10-year anniversary to chide those who originally thought the idea would be a disaster for transportation in the city.
The Burrard Street Bridge bike lane is now the busiest bike lane in North America, according to officials.
The permanent cycle lane on the south side of the bridge opened on July 13, 2009, but the months leading up to it were marked by harsh criticism from some leaders and community members that it would result in gridlock.
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They were saying no one would ride it, Vancouver's too rainy," he said.
"When it went in in that first week and those predictions of chaos and congestion just did not materialize, a lot of that opposition subsided pretty quickly."
One of those naysayers was Charles Gauthier, president and CEO with the Downtown Business Improvement Association.
Based on an ill-launched bike lane pilot project in 1996, it wasn't an unreasonable position to take.
When city council voted to accept a permanent lane, Gauthier said it should have chosen to widen the bridge instead as taking a vehicle lane away would not be in the best interests of businesses downtown.
"None of us had a crystal ball back then," he said. "We couldn't have predicted how popular cycling would become if you made it safer for people."
Now the BIA and Gauthier endorse cycling infrastructure, as many businesses have employees and customers who bike.
"Our position is that we need to ensure that downtown is accessible by all modes of transportation, and that includes cycling," he said.
In 2017, the city finished more work on the bridge that reconfigured it to include a lane on both sides.
The city says more than a million cyclists ride across the bridge each year and Quilan says it has become the model for other bike lanes across Vancouver.
The pedestrian bridge across Stewardson Way just east of 22nd Street in New West has been (or looks to be) opened. The last bit of fencing was undergoing installation for this past week.
My evidence: around 9:12pm Thursday evening, I saw someone standing on the southern ramp without a safety vest
Last edited by Express691; Aug 9, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
The pedestrian bridge across Stewardson Way just east of 22nd Street in New West has been (or looks to be) opened. The last bit of fencing was undergoing installation for this past week.
My evidence: around 9:12pm Thursday evening, I saw someone standing on the southern ramp without a safety vest
I ran past there this morning and it's not open yet.
Does anybody know how Mobi is doing? Given the city invested $1M in the project, I'd like to think there would be a little more information available to the public on their finances, users, future plans, etc.
I have a membership and love to hop on the bikes when it helps me get somewhere, but I'd also love a little more info.
They were demo'ing some electric assist bikes back at the PNE in August. I have yet to hear of any of them getting deployed or when that might happen. I often commute "one way" on a Mobi as going uphill in work clothes is less than ideal. E-assist would obviously solve that issue.
If Mobi was doing well, you'd think they would be expanding their boundaries.
Mobi would be alright for me because I live in the Mobi zone, but I wouldn't be able to ride to Cambie Village or Main Street past 16th Ave, because there are no docking stations there, and those are 2 areas that I frequent. Non the less, I'm going to get a Mobi membership in the spring. It is super convenient to grab a bike at a station then leave it at a station, then grab a Car2Go or bus/Skytrain. The combination of those 3 services should make getting around the city just as fast as using your own car, and at much less cost.
PS - Looking at the Mobi map right now, there are 0 bikes available at the the station that is about a half a block away from me, the next closest station also has 0 bikes, so I would have to walk 3 blocks to 13th and Columbia to get a bike, which isn't much, but the idea is to have a quick and convenient first and last mile option.
If Mobi was doing well, you'd think they would be expanding their boundaries.
Mobi would be alright for me because I live in the Mobi zone, but I wouldn't be able to ride to Cambie Village or Main Street past 16th Ave, because there are no docking stations there, and those are 2 areas that I frequent. Non the less, I'm going to get a Mobi membership in the spring. It is super convenient to grab a bike at a station then leave it at a station, then grab a Car2Go or bus/Skytrain. The combination of those 3 services should make getting around the city just as fast as using your own car, and at much less cost.
PS - Looking at the Mobi map right now, there are 0 bikes available at the the station that is about a half a block away from me, the next closest station also has 0 bikes, so I would have to walk 3 blocks to 13th and Columbia to get a bike, which isn't much, but the idea is to have a quick and convenient first and last mile option.
They did a minor expansion last summer, and I heard they were planning another one this summer, but again, lack of public info on their plans is annoying. I didn't have a membership until recently. They deployed a station right across the street from me, and it was staring me in the face every day.
They did a minor expansion last summer, and I heard they were planning another one this summer, but again, lack of public info on their plans is annoying. I didn't have a membership until recently. They deployed a station right across the street from me, and it was staring me in the face every day.
One would think that if it was doing screamingly well somebody would be trumpeting the fact.
They did a minor expansion last summer, and I heard they were planning another one this summer, but again, lack of public info on their plans is annoying. I didn't have a membership until recently. They deployed a station right across the street from me, and it was staring me in the face every day.
Next logical step would be expanding further west into Kits.
Bikes and bike lanes work as way to commute in the city. I would like to see Translink get in the bike sharing business or even partner with Mobi so we can see a major expansion that covers all of the CoV, and add some ebikes to the fleet, which would be an alternative to driving. Bike infrastructure is super cheap to build compared to public transit infrastructure, so it would be in Translink's best interests to seriously consider it.
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Maybe they are expecting translink to pay for it since it was part of the BC Parkway upgrate plan 10 years ago???
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