A CLOSER LOOK
/Denman and Alberni.
(click any image on this page to enlarge)
DANGER ZONES
by John Streit
THE VIEW FROM THE SIDEWALK … Allyson Shirley is a long-time West Ender who has been walking her two sons to school down Nelson Street from Jervis for years. She also looks out over Nelson from her apartment. She knows the busy street and its intersections very well. Ask her about the safety of the busy street and Shirley, like many other West Enders, has a litany of complaints. “I like the traffic circle at Jervis. However probably ten times a day we hear drivers freaking out and screaming about who has the right of way. Our neighbour had his front teeth punched out in this intersection!”
Denman and Alberni.
Moving west down Nelson to Broughton, Shirley identifies another intersection fellow West Enders have identified as problematic. “The stop signs at Broughton are brutal. This is a three-way stop. People coming out of the mini-park, on bikes etc. Lots of pedestrians, crossing cars, turning cars coming down the hill not stopping. It's a messy intersection.”
Shirley would like to see speed bumps near the intersections along with flashing lights at the stop signs to get drivers’ attention. “I’ve heard many drivers don't realize there is a stop sign there, duh,” she adds.
Robson and Denman.
Our Nelson Street tour next takes us to perhaps the most hated intersection in the West End according to residents, Nelson and Nicola near Vancouver Fire Hall No. 6. If you have ever crossed it as a pedestrian, cyclist or driver, you know it can be a pretty scary experience. It can be like a real-life game of ‘Frogger.’
“Drivers don’t stop and allow pedestrians to cross,” Shirley says. She believes this intersection needs flashing lights on the four stop signs, and perhaps even a pedestrian-activated crossing system.
Nelson and Nicola.
WEST ENDERS HAVE THEIR SAY … I recently asked West Enders via The West End Journal (TWEJ) and Vancouver West Enders Facebook pages about their least favourite intersections. More than 100 West Enders rsponded. Nelson and Nicola easily tops the list of dozens of excellent and constructive comments. Nicole Apthorpe writes “I almost get run over once a week.” Don Allison says there is a total lack of crosswalks along Nelson “when you think that within a few blocks north or south there are three schools, two playgrounds and a community centre.”
Tom Pearce agrees, saying “I avoid crossing Nelson at all costs there. I was thinking of mounting a camera for that intersection from my apartment patio for all the collisions and near misses.”
A check of ICBC crash statistics for Nelson Street from 2015-2019 shows Nicola is down on the list at 16 accidents in that time span. Meanwhile, Burrard and Nelson is at a whopping 269, followed by Nelson and Thurlow at 143, and Denman and Nelson at 69. But that doesn’t diminish the fact many feel Nelson and Nicola can be improved. Tim Crane says via Facebook “Nelson and Nicola is a three-way crossing but should be a four-way stop.” Marjorie Espinoza-Boddy writes “it always scares me so much. I could easily get in a car crash and I’ve been close.”
GORDON PRICE is an urban planner, former city councillor and former director of the City Program at SFU. He is also a long time West Ender who lives on Chilco. “I understand why drivers would choose Nelson and Nicola. As a cyclist, the one that makes me nervous is Comox and Broughton/Nicola when I'm cycling west on Comox. Even though I have the right-of-way (no stop signs on Comox so cyclists get quite a bit of speed on the downhill slope), the intersections make me nervous that a driver might run the stop sign.”
Price believes more could be done to address traffic safety in our neighbourhood. “It must be a law of traffic management that there can always be more done. There has been a huge increase in traffic safety over the last century - thousands of lives saved (also because of safer cars), but so long as there are any deaths, injuries or collisions, the bar of expectation gets raised. Traffic designers will argue, as well, that over-signing or regulating can worsen the problem by giving people the illusion of safety. They may stop being as careful, which may then actually make the streets less safe. In the end, traffic safety improves with fewer cars or through traffic. Which is what traffic calming in the 70s (west of Denman) and 80s (east of Denman) did.”
THE CITY NEEDS TO LISTEN … Ian Rowe is chair of the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) at Lord Roberts Elementary School. He tells TWEJ that parents frequently raise concerns about another Nelson Street intersection, the traffic circle at Bidwell. “The primary concerns are the speed of vehicles and the limited visibility for vehicles to see kids. In the past, the PAC looked at adding signage to this intersection. We’d love the city to do something here.” He believes Nelson is “sketchy the whole way down, except at Nelson and Cardero where there is a four-way stop.”
Rowe echoes Price’s concerns about Comox Street, especially near Lord Roberts. “We also have serious concerns about Comox and Bidwell, where during pick up and drop off vehicles often back up or do other crazy things in the crosswalk. We’d like the separated bike lane on Comox to extend in front of the school to help (amongst other things) increase safety in this intersection.”
He says the PAC has been trying to work with the City of Vancouver on this but have not found them helpful so far. “Hopefully, the City of Vancouver will learn to work more directly with community groups like PACs to make our neighbourhoods safer.”
The City of Vancouver says collisions per 10,000 daily trips (combined pedestrian, bike and vehicle) in our neighbourhood are below the city average. However, pedestrian collision rates alone are slightly above the citywide rate. “It’s an outcome due in part to the West End having the highest walking mode share of any neighborhood in Vancouver - with 47 percent of all trips made by people walking.”
Chart courtesy of the City of Vancouver.
CHANGES ARE COMING … The good news is that many traffic improvements are planned for the West End in 2021, including:
Flashing beacons (RRFB) and new drop ramps at Thurlow and Beach to help improve awareness of people walking in the existing crosswalk and to improve pedestrian accessibility.
Leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) at Bute and Davie to give people walking a five to seven second head start, so their presence is established in the middle of the crosswalk when turning drivers get the green light to proceed. This helps improve driver awareness of people crossing in the crosswalk before they initiate their left or right turn.
New zebra-striped crosswalks at Beach and Nicola and Beach and Broughton.
Upgraded crosswalks from parallel lines to zebra-striped crosswalks at Beach and Chilco and Beach & Guilford to improve visibility of existing crosswalks.
A move towards LED lighting at intersections and mid-block locations in the next three to four years.
Audible Pedestrian Signals (APS) at several points along Beach.
Nelson and Nicola 1.
The City of Vancouver says other changes to local street intersections are being coordinated through capital projects. “Replacing the regionally significant water main along Haro Street required removal of two traffic circles which, following community engagement, are being replaced with curb bulges, a raised crosswalk, and stop control. Another upcoming project identified through the West End Community Plan may have local intersection improvements is the Bute Street Greenway anticipated to begin in 2022.”
CIRCLES OR STOP SIGNS? … The West End Journal asked Gordon Price what he preferred, traffic circles or stop signs. “Honestly not sure. I like traffic circles for their greenery, especially the one at Barclay and Broughton - a flowering cherry which in spring is like a pink punctuation mark in the middle of the street.” Ian Rowe says the PAC has no position on this but personally, he has a soft spot for traffic circles. “They really do beautify our neighbourhood. Though I would imagine that stop signs are safer, especially at four-way stops. I would hate to lose our traffic circles and would love to see better signage around the traffic circles.”
Nelson and Nicola 2
West Enders posting to TWEJ on Facebook identified several other traffic danger zones. Nicholas Mayhew says crossing the steep hill on Thurlow at Burnaby is always dangerous. “Cars come fast on Thurlow and you have to go quite far to see if anyone is coming. I’ve written to the city for a pedestrian-controlled light but have not yet had a response.”
Others mentioned the stop signs some drivers feel are optional at Denman and Haro and one block west at Denman and Barclay. August Buquet dislikes Denman at Alberni and Denman and West Georgia where you have a combo of cyclists, pedestrians and anxious Lions Gate Bridge commuters all packed into two complicated intersections. “It’s highly dangerous as it is a free for all for vehicles making a right turn off Georgia onto Denman, who all want to be the first to make the turn before pedestrians cross.”
Brenda Brady wants Barclay and Nicola to become a four-way stop. “It’s a nightmare - a busy corner with shops on one side and Friends for Life, Roedde House and a dog park on the other. Cars blow through the stop sign at Nicola. Help.”
And let’s get back to Nelson, this time west of Denman at Gilford. Rob Gair writes “northbound Gilford between Comox and Nelson is a hill with a stop sign at the top. However, visibility is poor and northbound Gilford cars have to stick their nose out to see if there is eastbound traffic on Nelson. I live nearby and often hear screeching tires.”
Carmen Myers agrees, ”that super dangerous corner, I live at it. Tons of horn rage happening there.”
The City of Vancouver says VanConnect is the most effective way to communicate and share details and photos to report street or intersection issues. Staff tell TWEJ they will review the collision history at Nelson and Nicola to “determine if future safety upgrades are required.”
TO DESIGN FOR PEOPLE OR CARS? … Gordon Price feels society is going through an amazing real-life experiment in car use. “From the lock-down to work-from-home to whatever will happen after the pandemic. At the same time automation is beginning to roll out. Could be more traffic, could be less. We'll find out. Either way, the West End will likely remain this extraordinary oasis of a predominately high-density walkable neighbourhood.”
Ian Rowe with the LR PAC believes many parents need to drive, but many more walk. “We should be designing our neighbourhood to work for the many first and cars second.”
