Several of you have been wondering about that petition in support of change on Point Grey Road. Currently there are over 2,100 names – and HUB has an additional 500.
There is an online link for signatures here.
PETITION
(This Petition is organized by residents of Point Grey Road as of May 23, 2013, Revised May 31, 2013 )
The City of Vancouver has agreed as part of its Transportation 2040 Plan to begin traffic safety improvements for the Point Grey Road – Cornwall Corridor this coming Fall. The City council is scheduled to vote on the plan this summer..
Two options are being considered for traffic safety improvements on Point Grey:
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Road: Option 1 (2a): Point Grey Road would be redesignated from a Secondary Arterial to a Local Street with car traffic diversions at Macdonald Street and Blenheim Street.
These diversions would be extensions of the current park spaces across Point Grey Road. Pedestrian and cyclist traffic would not be diverted. Most existing parking would remain on the South side of Point Grey Road. There would be a significant reduction of car traffic on Point Grey Road to local users only, and without the through traffic, car speeds would be substantially reduced..
Option 2 (2b): Point Grey Road would remain designated as a Secondary Arterial, but as a One-Way Street westbound from Macdonald Street to Alma Street. The South side of Point Grey Road would become a bike lane. All existing parking on the South side of Point Grey Road would be removed.
There would be no reduction in car traffic or speed westbound. Cyclists would be required to cross Point Grey Road at Macdonald Street, as the proposed bike lane would be on the South side of Point Grey Road West of Macdonald Street and on the North side of Point Grey Road East of Macdonald Street..
If you are in support of Option 1 (2a) — Making Point Grey Road a Local Street — please show your support by signing.
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UPDATE: You can also sign the HUB petition at http://tinyurl.com/pgcpetition. Each signature sends an email directly to mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca.
You can also sign the HUB petition at http://tinyurl.com/pgcpetition. Each signature sends an email directly to mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca.
Thank you
The fact is that City’s aim to create “a safe, convenient and comfortable connection for pedestrians and cyclists between Burrard Bridge and Jericho Beach” does not require closure of a key arterial road that would divert 10,000-15,000 additional cars to MacDonald, 4th and other corridors where traffic impacts and accident rates are already far greater. The City needs to look at practical and cost-effective alternatives that work for everyone. For example, see following link..
http://everyonewinsvancouver.blogspot.ca/2013/02/point-grey-cornwall-corridor.html
The Everyone Wins idea is well intentioned and brings up some good points but is based on something that is not true. The EW website says “The City is proposing to close Point Grey Road to accommodate bike lanes between Burrard Bridge and Jericho Park”. It then it goes on from that false premise.
The city’s website says “Address existing safety issues along Point Grey Road and Cornwall Avenue by reducing the volume and speed of vehicle traffic.”
The whole corridor from the bridge to Jericho Beach is the larger project and along with other active transportation includes cycling but the option to close the ends of Point Grey Road to non-local motor traffic is not to accommodate cycling. If the plan was changed to there being a cycle route made on West 1st Avenue there would continue to be the same problem as now with too much motor vehicle traffic on a street that is too small to be an arterial and the locals would continue to want some change and we’d be back to the need to do something anyway. If it became a traffic calmed local street then it would become a good route to bike along without spending any more money.
Other than the bike permeability in the park extensions, there are no bike lanes in Option 2a. Stating that it’s the reason for the closure is false.
I like aspects of this EW idea further east. The path in the park, the separated cycle lanes in the Cornwall shopping strip. I like that people are discussing things and talking about what kind of city they want and the role and effect of motor vehicles in it. We should get our facts right though.
Yes, no question, the Everyone Wins alternative is well intentioned and aims to encourage the public (and the City) to recognize that proposed closure of Point Grey Road is unnecessary and counterproductive. In fact, recent news that the Jericho lands may soon be on the blocks for development only reinforces the need to maintain Point Grey Road (PGR) as part of a well distributed arterial road network, and with sufficient capacity to accommodate increasing rather than diminishing motor vehicle traffic.
Suggestion that the EW alternative is based on a “false premise” is a stretch, to say the least and seems largely about detracting from a balanced, common sense concept. Again, the premise of the Everyone Wins alternative is that closure of PGR is not a prerequisite for establishing “a safe, convenient and comfortable connection for pedestrians and cyclists between Burrard Bridge and Jericho Beach”, and is counterproductive in the broader transportation context.
As you note, the current process is dealing with the whole of the Point Grey–Cornwall (PGC) Corridor and the City made clear from the outset of public consultation that the precise alignment of the PGC active transportation corridor was not predetermined and would be responsive to public input. Unfortunately, however, it is on Cornwall where the City has backtracked from separated bike lanes precisely where they are needed.
According to ICBC statistics, it is Cornwall Avenue where current traffic movements pose a real and considerable risk to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike. Here, however, the City’s recommendation is to divert bicycle traffic across a major intersection (at great expense) to and from York Avenue, where considerable grades will predictably discourage new riders and while more seasoned cyclists will continue to brave Cornwall traffic.
Ironically, it is at the other end of the corridor, where ICBC statistics give no indication of a serious problem, that the City is determined to close a key arterial road and divert between 10,000 and 15,000 additional automobiles to other corridors where traffic impacts and collision rates are already higher and where pedestrian traffic is greater. Moreover, in contrast with the York Avenue alignment, there is an ideal alternative that is more direct, virtually flat and carries negligible motor vehicle traffic. The alternative is West 1st Avenue, a route that the City claims to have considered, but evidently not in any serious way.
Frankly, your argument for the necessity of closing Point Grey Road comes closer to revealing the reality of the City’s perspective and motivations than anything that I’ve come across. In particular, you argue that “If the plan was changed to there being a cycle route made on West 1st Avenue there would continue to be the same problem as now with too much motor vehicle traffic on a street that is too small to be an arterial and the locals would continue to want some change and we’d be back to the need to do something anyway”. But, since when does the City feel compelled to respond to the concerns and aspirations of those residing on arterial streets?
While we can all appreciate that residents of PGR would prefer to live on a local, traffic-calmed street, we can also be certain that residents of every other arterial road in the city feel the same way. To assert that that the City would be compelled to “do something” suggests a unique standard for Point Grey Road. Clearly, the same standard does not apply to MacDonald Street, nor to any other arterial road that I am aware of.
As argued at the Everyone Wins site, we are already well beyond a reasonable balance between the desire for calm on local streets and resulting traffic impacts on arterials. Unfortunately, rather than seeking to address traffic impacts on Point Grey Road as part of a balanced transportation strategy for the PGC Corridor that accommodates everyone, including motorists, the City’s approach is simply to declare that Point Grey Road is now a local street and, thus, deserves to be calm. Residents of remaining arterial streets will simply have to deal with the fallout. (presumably, these folks are among “the few who would rather play dirty politics and purposefully agitate the public” as referred to in a related post at this site: http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/once-more-into-the-bicycle-fray-point-grey-road-helmets-licensing/).
Elsewhere in the City (including Burrard Bridge), bike lanes and related infrastructure have been introduced on a trial basis, or phased-in, with related assessment of resulting influence on traffic patterns and potential neighbourhood impacts. There is no indication in final recommendations released this afternoon (http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20130723/documents/rr3.pdf) that there is any such intention or interest in regard to the PGC corridor.
This is unfortunate given the scale and collateral implications of the present project, because there is presumably good reason to imagine that measures taken at one end of the corridor could have considerable influence at the other end. In particular, if “reducing (rather than eliminating) the volume and speed of traffic” on Point Grey Road is a project objective, it seems entirely plausible to anticipate that planned reconfiguration of the Burrard-Cornwall intersection (Note: separate funding request apparently already in place for July 24th PTE meeting) and introduction of separated bike lanes between Trafalgar and MacDonald will substantially reduce both traffic volume and speed west of MacDonald. Why not hold off on closure of Point Grey Road pending related assessment?
What’s clear to me is that the City’s final recommendations are more about politics than they are about transportation. One final point we do agree on, though, is that Option 2a is preferable to Option 2b. In my view, because it involves relatively minimal investment or permanent alterations to Point Grey Road prior to the 2014 civic election.
Here’s a petition for those in favour of an “everyone wins” outcome..
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/mayor-and-council-vancouver-bc-develop-a-third-option-for-the-cornwall-point-grey-road-corridor