Metro Vancouver Bike/Pedestrian Discussion

[st7860]

I wonder when the path between 29th avenue and Joyce will be finished(its being torn up and flattened rightnow)

[logan5]

I've been noticing lately that pedestrians seem oblivious to emergency vehicles trying to get through intersections. The ambulance literally has to stop and wait for people to get out of the way. People just stand there in the middle of the street. That's my mild rant for the day.

[Large Cat]

Originally Posted by st7860

I wonder when the path between 29th avenue and Joyce will be finished(its being torn up and flattened rightnow)

I went past it yesterday and it looks like it's almost done! As if the pavement just needs to dry now. Not sure about the lighting enhancements though.

[go_leafs_go02]

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_rele...022-000349.htm

Province to fund Stanley Park Causeway safety improvements
VANCOUVER – As part of B.C. on the Move, the Government of B.C.’s new 10-year transportation plan, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone has announced a $7-million commitment toward improving pedestrian and cyclist safety along the Stanley Park Causeway.

The proposed upgrades will include widening the pathways and installing safety fencing on both sides of the causeway. This project is an important safety project, which also provides more transportation choices for people travelling in Metro Vancouver.

[Klazu]

[officedweller]

At least the Province has the sense to paint pictograms o the pathway - unlike the City of Vancouver
(which only posts signs too high for people to notice) - here they have BOTH.
Plus their pictograms are double sided for 2-way traffic and have directional arrows.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Klazu

i think it looks quite nice. and it looks like its high enough incase one was to fall off their bike. a concrete barrier would have looked bad. this looks quite nice indeed.

Originally Posted by officedweller

At least the Province has the sense to paint pictograms o the pathway - unlike the City of Vancouver
(which only posts signs too high for people to notice) - here they have BOTH.
Plus their pictograms are double sided for 2-way traffic and have directional arrows.

well what do you expect when Vancouver City Hall is full of idiots. hopefully they actually do paint those pictograms in reality and it isn't one of those things in the render that ends up never showing up.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

i think it looks quite nice. and it looks like its high enough incase one was to fall off their bike. a concrete barrier would have looked bad. this looks quite nice indeed.



well what do you expect when Vancouver City Hall is full of idiots. hopefully they actually do paint those pictograms in reality and it isn't one of those things in the render that ends up never showing up.

or never maintained.

[WBC]

While the are upgrading those bike/pedestrian paths they might want to renovate playgrounds and especially washrooms and change rooms in Stanley Park. The supposed jewel of Vancouver has washrooms that look like something out of a 3rd world country. I don't know whose budget that comes out of and I don't care, but those facilities are an absolute embarrassment for the city especially given the number of tourists using them.

[idunno]

Well, somebody died last year when they fell into traffic. It really is pretty dangerous.

Actual deaths > Being ticked off at uncleanliness in terms of funding priorities.

[WBC]

Originally Posted by idunno

Well, somebody died last year when they fell into traffic. It really is pretty dangerous.

Actual deaths > Being ticked off at uncleanliness in terms of funding priorities.

I don't disagree with the need for the path upgrade. Overall, given the importance that Stanley park has to Vancouver in terms of tourism and local value I think it is utterly neglected on many levels.

[Large Cat]

A few BC Parkway updates (pictures to come soon I hope):

-the path between Joyce and Rupert should be finished within days. Honestly I don't know why the fences are still up.

-path segregation and refinishing at Patterson station looks to be complete. Not extremely helpful yet given the state of the path (bumpy and too narrow) between Patterson and Willingdon, but it's a good start.

-the stairs connecting the multi use pathway to Slocan have been replaced with a smooth asphalt slope. It should no longer be necessary for cyclists to connect via 29th and penticton, which reduces the grade problem significantly. Awesome! It took me a while to notice this one though, so this might have been done for a while. Now all that remains is to build a short stretch of pathway on the east side of slocan and a safe crossing (perhaps with curb inlet?) for pedestrians, as shown in the BC parkway plan documents.

-they finally did something about the cluster chicken at nanaimo! They did something incredibly smart and took a bite out of Nanaimo St itself to provide a separated cycle track up to the stoplight. The concrete barriers are already in place, and it looks like they are still going to paint a short striped bike crossing across the bus loop from the multi use pathway to the cycle track. It also looks like they are installing a bike button at the light at the end of the cycle track, although the post is still taped over. I think this is the upgrade I'm most excited about this summer!

[WBC]

Originally Posted by Large Cat

A few BC Parkway updates (pictures to come soon I hope):

-the path between Joyce and Rupert should be finished within days. Honestly I don't know why the fences are still up.

-path segregation and refinishing at Patterson station looks to be complete. Not extremely helpful yet given the state of the path (bumpy and too narrow) between Patterson and Willingdon, but it's a good start.

-the stairs connecting the multi use pathway to Slocan have been replaced with a smooth asphalt slope. It should no longer be necessary for cyclists to connect via 29th and penticton, which reduces the grade problem significantly. Awesome! It took me a while to notice this one though, so this might have been done for a while. Now all that remains is to build a short stretch of pathway on the east side of slocan and a safe crossing (perhaps with curb inlet?) for pedestrians, as shown in the BC parkway plan documents.

-they finally did something about the cluster chicken at nanaimo! They did something incredibly smart and took a bite out of Nanaimo St itself to provide a separated cycle track up to the stoplight. The concrete barriers are already in place, and it looks like they are still going to paint a short striped bike crossing across the bus loop from the multi use pathway to the cycle track. It also looks like they are installing a bike button at the light at the end of the cycle track, although the post is still taped over. I think this is the upgrade I'm most excited about this summer!

Nanaimo upgrade sounds awesome...I was always perplexed by that one and where exactly I should ride with a bike.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Large Cat

A few BC Parkway updates (pictures to come soon I hope):

-the path between Joyce and Rupert should be finished within days. Honestly I don't know why the fences are still up.

Thanks for this update, it's not far from me so I'll have to go check it out.

I've never used the BC Parkway between Renfrew and Boundary because IMHO the Vanness routing was really awful. Vanness is a narrow street and very hilly with poor sight lines, all of which serve to make it a daunting ride. I live south of Kingsway so when I travel that way I've always used Euclid street instead. Euclid is only 1 block south of Vanness but is almost completely flat and much wider, so I've found it to be a much more pleasant experience.

I'll have to take a look at what they've done to see if it changes my opinion.

[Large Cat]

Okay, here are some photos.



Nice smooth asphalt, quite beautiful actually.



They seem to have repainted half of the crosswalk lines while leaving the rest to rot. I'm not sure what the squares indicate (cyclists crossing?) but I like them lol. The only thing I don't like about the crossing work here is the cement ramp leading onto the west side of Patterson has quite a bump going onto it from the roadway. Hurts your bum on a bike and you have to go backwards with a wheelchair. But the ramp on the east side is quite smooth.



The beginning of the new path between Joyce-Collingwood and Rupert. It's quite wide and looks very smooth. I'm not sure what's keeping them from taking down the fences. If you zoom in close on the centre of the photo you can see how they leveled the grade for the trail next to Vanness.



From the highest point on Vanness. You can see the trail is quite a bit lower.



They seem to be doing a bit more landscaping here, but the buttons are already installed.



Here is the new asphalt slope connecting to Slocan. Excellent work. Going up 29th and down Penticton was quite a pain and a little dangerous. They are doing more landscaping here also it seems. Hopefully the crossing treatment soon also.



At Nanaimo Station. You can see the new protected cycle track section, and paint lines indicating where white stripes will soon be put down. I love the whole concept here for crossing Nanaimo. It must have taken some thinking on their part.



Closer to the cycle track. I do wonder if they will be adding a bit more curb, since at the moment they seem to need to indicate to cars with the pylons that this is not a car lane.



However, today a truck was blocking me in the cycle track! Upon closer inspection I discovered...



That a technician is installing the new bike button as we speak!

All in all great work so far this spring!

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by idunno

Well, somebody died last year when they fell into traffic. It really is pretty dangerous.

Actual deaths > Being ticked off at uncleanliness in terms of funding priorities.

If I put on my logic hat I don't think anyone cares about the death nearly as much as they care about permafying the Causeway through the park, in anticipation of a possible fight with a rouge city hall trying to remove it in 15 years.

[Large Cat]

Originally Posted by cornholio

If I put on my logic hat I don't think anyone cares about the death nearly as much as they care about permafying the Causeway through the park, in anticipation of a possible fight with a rouge city hall trying to remove it in 15 years.

If that fight could be won by putting better cycling infrastructure on an elevated roadway, the Dunsmuir viaduct would already be considered permanent. But Vision itself is the one now proposing to remove the viaducts.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the pics!

They may be waiting for the landscaping to be finished before opening it - so they can work without worrying about endangering cyclists safety.

[deasine]

Was hoping for a separate cycle track from the parkway via Slocan to the Park but that is definitely better than nothing! Thanks for the updates!

[Large Cat]

Originally Posted by deasine

Was hoping for a separate cycle track from the parkway via Slocan to the Park but that is definitely better than nothing! Thanks for the updates!

No prob! Yarr, I think they are still planning to do that on the east side of slocan, so that you would cross at the light and then once more with the new crossing right at where I took the picture. But probably not till at least next summer...lol