Scot observes:
Forced road diet on Main Street at 2nd due to construction. From six lanes to two. No problem and no delays so far.
.
.
On the other hand:
Burnaby, B.C. – Density surrounded by greenspace next to Edmonds Skytrain station. But roads are designed to move cars.
.
I dunno about no delays on Main…. I was there on the weekend and they weren’t huge, but there were delays.
Main really needs separated bike lanes. There are a high number of crashes involving bikes along Main so something needs to be done. There is actually enough space on the roadway without moving the curbs for painted bike lanes between Union and 3rd. Separated lanes could be added block by block as they rebuild the road.
I agree. The area between False Creek and the train tracks is a north-south bottleneck. Currently the only cycling option is the Seawall and the painted door zone lane on Quebec northbound. Both are good and are appreciated but there is a need for more. It’s not like the rest of the street grid where there can be a cycle route every 10 blocks. This is a focused point from a larger area.
I am of the opinion that all arterials like Main that have shopping on them should have cycling infrastructure on them eventually.
I hear that there’s going to be a multi-modal overpass from Terminal to Great Northern Way. Don’t know when that is planned for though. That’ll be nice. Currently if you’re in Mount Pleasant east of Main and you want to go to Strathcona, you have to go west then north, and then east.
I borrowed a car to move some stuff last weekend, and I would call that a delay. Was around Mount Pleasant so no avoiding Main. Second the separated bike lane on Main. I usually avoid it for Quebec instead, but on occasion I’m on Main and not a happy camper with the traffic and pavement cracks.
The quantifiable delay period is really a red herring, the real question is do we need 6 lanes of traffic on Main? The next chapter in Vancouverism could be the way the city addressed its numerous STROADS. Why is Burrard Street between Georgia and Hastings a 6 lane expanse of asphalt? Its essentially a road to nowhere at this point heading towards the waterfront.
With the construction, Kingsway traffic could be diverting down Knight Street and Clark Drive (the closest parallel north-south street, which is pretty far away).
Main Street has been effectively narrowed farther south due to the Main Street transit improvement project, which introduced a lot of bus bays.
Arguably, north of Broadway, Main Street (together with Quebec St.) acts as a collection and distribution system for Kingsway traffic, Main St. traffic, Great Northern Way traffic and Broadway traffic.
With the future removal of the viaducts, Quebec St. (not Main St.) may be traffic-calmed (since Pacific Blvd won’t funnel into it anymore) and there may be more traffic diverted to Main St. (but everyone hates the Main & Terminal traffic light (longest cycle in the city together with Cambie & 41st) and drive over to Quebec to avoid that traffic light.
PS – did you check if Quebec St. was busy as the detour route?
And that is a reason that I live in Burnaby. Also notice the green space as opposed to concrete that separates the road from people and their condos…Knowing both locations they are both well served by rapid transit and bike lanes. Hmmmm…who got it right…But to each its own…At least people have a choice…
Greenspace is great but the point is these neighbourhoods are designed to accommodate the vehicle use brought on by density and not create walkable pedestrian environments. Where are the walkable amenities in that area? Dry cleaners, cafes, restaurants, corner store, etc. If everyone is just going to live in condos and apartments and drive everywhere then this is about the worst type of development there is.
As opposed to the kilometres of condo development along SW Marine with no amenities at all, never mind walkable amenities? Vancouver is the king of double standards.
This isn’t a Burnaby versus Vancouver thing, there is bad development everywhere. The photo of Burnaby could easily be Surrey, Coquitlam.
The City has had big digital signs up for months (as far away as Pacific Boulevard @ Cambie) saying to stay far away from Main between Terminal and West 2nd because of construction
– so maybe people actually listened?