Scariest spot to stand; Beta and Lougheed

As the photos and following video show, the most dangerous spot for pedestrians is the island on the northwest corner of Beta Ave and Lougheed Hwy.  Pedestrians wishing to cross from or to there are essentially offered no protection from unsafely driven vehicles.  I myself alone have witnessed several  near collisions of vehicles into the island and nothing prevents vehicles from going right through the island and killing anyone unfortunate enough to be standing there.

The photos below show broken parts of a vehicle that probably collided into the light or sign post there.

The only real solution to this hazard is the placement of short, evenly-spaced steel posts along the perimeter of the island with enough space for wheelchair access. The barriers may not prevent flying car parts from injuring pedestrians but would certainly prevent pedestrians from being run over by a car.

If you don't believe me, watch the video below of what happened during the heavy snow and icy conditions.

Willingdon Greenway concerns raised

As the proposed Willingdon Greenway linking Brentwood Town Centre and Willingdon Heights continues to move forward, a local cyclist group is raising some concerns.  The greenway will run along the the east side of Willingdon Ave between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.  The current design will require cyclists and pedestrians to use the same path whereas the cycling advocacy group HUB is suggesting 2 separated paths along the greenway.

Burnaby Now story below

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

Path problems: Moreno Zanotto, a member of HUB Burnaby and the City of Burnaby’s transportation committee, is unhappy with the city’s proposed Willingdon Greenway, which would be a shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists travelling between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.   Photograph By Jennifer Gauthier

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

CAYLEY DOBIE / BURNABY NOW

OCTOBER 6, 2016 10:59 AM

Cycling advocates in Burnaby are standing firm against a proposed shared pathway that would link the future Brentwood development to Hastings Street.

HUB Burnaby, the local branch of a non-profit organization that promotes cycling in the community, is calling on the City of Burnaby to rethink the design for its proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The current design is a 1.2-kilometre multi-use pathway that would be accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists. It’s proposed to run from Brentlawn Drive to Hastings Street, connecting Brentwood Town Centre to the north part of the city.

There are already several similar urban trails throughout the city.

In the past, HUB Burnaby has sat back as the paths were constructed, but enough is enough, according to Moreno Zanotto, a HUB Burnaby member and a representative on the city’s transportation committee.

“Their effectiveness is predicated on their non-use. So as long as pedestrian volumes stay really low and cyclist’ volumes stay really low, they can work, but as soon as those numbers start increasing, the number of conflicts between road users explodes,” Zanotto told the NOW.

The main concerns with the proposed Willingdon Greenway are safety and growth of transportation modes like cycling and walking, Zanotto said.

Chances of a collision are especially high with cyclists travelling at higher speeds than pedestrians and even more so if they’re forced to dodge other obstacles along the four-metre-wide path, including benches, park spaces and art pieces as proposed, Zanotto said.

A shared path will also discourage prospective cyclists from using the greenway as a commuter route, he added.

Currently, less than one per cent of trips within the City of Burnaby are made by bike, and it’s been that way for at least the past 30 years, according to research conducted by HUB using data from TransLink. During that time, the city has focused on urban trails, Zanotto said.

“It’s not an effective facility in increasing cycling, and we’re not seeing growth,” he said. “We need a new approach.”

Zanotto, who lives in the Heights, said he wouldn’t use the proposed greenway unless it was the only option. Instead, he and other cyclists in the area prefer the Sea-to-River Parkway that runs north to south along Carleton Avenue.

What he’d like to see along the Willingdon corridor is a separated bike lane like those in Vancouver or European countries like the Netherlands.

“They’re not only safer, they represent really good choices for encouraging cycling,” Zanotto said.

HUB Burnaby is currently circulating a petition asking the City of Burnaby to build a separated cycle path on the Willingdon Greenway. The petition is aiming for 100 signatures before it's presented to council. So far, 21 people have signed. To sign the petition and learn more about what HUB's proposal for the greenway, click here.

On Sept. 14, the City of Burnaby held an open house to provide residents with more information regarding the proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The NOW contacted the City of Burnaby for details on when the project would go before council but have yet to hear back.

© 2016 Burnaby Now

Willingdon linear park coming in 2016

According to the City of Burnaby website, the development of a pedestrian/cyclist oriented linear park connecting Brentwood Town Centre and Burnaby Heights will begin in 2016.  The north-south linear park will be situated on the eastern side of Willingdon, beginning at Brentlawn Drive and ending at Pender Street.  The City recently approved the demolition of a City-owned house at 4504 Napier Street to make way for the park.

Crosswalk coming to Beta Ave and Brentwood Drive

The City of Burnaby will install a pedestrian crosswalk at the sight of the recent fatal collision between a motor vehicle and a cyclist.  It will be a welcome relief for both pedestrians and drivers alike.

Burnaby NewsLeader article below:

Brentwood intersection to get safety improvements

• by  Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader
• posted Jun 10, 2014 at 1:00 PM

A section of Beta Avenue next to Brentwood mall will soon see safety improvements after a cyclist was struck and killed by a vehicle there last month.

The 62-year-old Burnaby man was killed May 6 at the intersection of Beta and Brentwood Drive. While plans were already in the works to make changes at the intersection in conjunction with the redevelopment of Brentwood mall, the incident "helped make it a higher priority," said Doug Louie, Burnaby's assistant director of engineering for transportation services.

A special pedestrian crosswalk will be installed at the north edge of the Beta Avenue driveway into the mall parking lot, Louie said. It will include curb bulges to narrow the street, pedestrian-activated amber lights, possibly on the sides of the road, and a reduction in the speed limit from the current 50 km/h.

Existing overhead flashing amber lights that warn motorists to slow down for the traffic signal down the steep hill at Lougheed Highway will likely be moved to the south edge of the mall driveway, he said.

The problems at that location are complex, with a combination of pedestrians, motorists, a steep hill, a driveway and a housing development, Brentwood Gate, across the street, all within 50 metres of Lougheed.

"It's not a great place to put a marked crosswalk," he said. "But if we're going to put a marked crosswalk you have to make it special because of the unusual circumstances."

The cost of the work will be shared between Burnaby city hall and mall owner Shape Properties. It's expected to be complete by the end of the summer.

twitter.com/WandaChow

Brentlawn Drive needs stop signs

A common concern that unites proponents and opponents of major high rise developments adjacent to single-family neighbourhoods is the proliferation of automobile traffic.  I've previously pointed out the fact that many drivers already speed through Brentlawn Drive with absolute impunity as I've never seen police authorities place their already under-supported resources on enforcing traffic laws in Brentwood Park.  This problem will become even worse once the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment unfolds over the next 5 - 20 years.

The following video provides a brief glimpse into some of the perils faced by pedestrians at the intersection of Beta Ave and Brentlawn Drive.  This intersection has stop signs on Beta Ave but gives vehicles and pedestrians on Brentlawn Drive the right-of-way.  In the video, many pedestrians crossing the intersection are simply ignored by drivers as if they don't exist.  Many drivers approaching Brentlawn simply ignore the stop sign by rolling right through it even when there are pedestrians at the intersection with the right of way as they are on Brentlawn Drive trying to cross Beta Ave.  A solution to this would be to place stop signs on Brentlawn Drive and to install well marked crosswalks at the intersection.  Significant coloured markings on crosswalks are effective traffic calming measures as drivers are less likely to recklessly encroach onto a well marked, highly visible crossing without concern for public safety.

Traffic signals

New traffic signals are being installed on Rosser Ave and Lougheed Highway and at the intersection of Madison Ave and Dawson Street.  The signals at Madison and Dawson will improve on an existing marked crossing that has been inadequate at best at night due to poor lighting over the crosswalk.

The signals at Rosser and Lougheed will open up a north-south pedestrian crossing but will continue to prevent vehicles from crossing through.  In the future,  it will be an important crosswalk connecting the north and south sides of Lougheed Hwy next to the Solo District that will house Whole Foods.

Safe sidewalks means safety from cars

I've already written about elements that make sidewalks appealing to pedestrians (Appealing Sidewalks). Safety as an appealing element is something that is lacking in most places in Metro Vancouver, particularly in Kitsilano where a pedestrian was just killed by a car entering the sidewalk.  A simple barrier that would prevent vehicles from jumping the curb and endangering pedestrians is lacking virtually everywhere sidewalks exist here.

Woman killed when pinned between car and Kitsilano storefront

By Christopher Reynolds, Vancouver Sun June 12, 2012 12:37 PM

VANCOUVER - Police will not be releasing the identity of a woman killed early Monday afternoon after a car, whose driver was attempting to parallel park, suddenly careened onto the sidewalk, pinning her between the vehicle and a storefront.

The decision comes at the request of family members who were notified Monday.

The woman, a 52-year-old Kitsilano resident, had been walking westbound in front of The Shoe Studio on Broadway near Macdonald Street when the station wagon lurched over the curb and into her midsection around 12:30 p.m.

She was taken to hospital but died of her injuries.

The 67-year-old driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, said Const. Lindsey Houghton. The car will undergo mechanical testing. Speed and alcohol are not considered factors in the incident.

This is Vancouver's eighth traffic-related death of 2012 compared to seven for the same time period in 2011 and four in 2010.

"I heard a loud, loud crash," said Nicole Belanger, 22, who had been working at Solly's Bagelry next door. "I immediately saw that there was a car on the sidewalk, and then someone came in yelling 'Call 911.'

"I was shaking," she said. "All my co-workers were shaking a good hour afterward."

Vancouver police sent victims services workers to the scene to offer trauma counselling to bystanders, said Const. Lindsey Houghton.

creynolds@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Pedestrian safety a growing concern

The following story in the Burnaby Now highlights the dangers faced by pedestrians, including children, on a daily basis in Burnaby.  The stretch of Gilmore in front of Kitchener Elementary School does not have a curb separating the road from the sidewalk which incidentally is made of gravel.  From reading the story, there are differing views on the level of safety that exists around the school.  On the one side, there are parents and children that say they are faced with dangerous drivers while walking to school with their children whereas the City of Burnaby's David Kilpatrick says that safety has improved because a new drop-off area has been created behind the school.  It looks like he's forgotten about the children that walk to school.

Close calls spark demand for improvements

Parents say drivers are speeding through crosswalk

By Jennifer Moreau, Burnaby Now January 25, 2012

Read more: http://www.burnabynow.com/Close+calls+spark+demand+improvements/6048464/story.html#ixzz1kX0GCjHC]
Parents at Kitchener Elementary who are worried for their children's safety want improved visibility around the school's crosswalk.
"The issue is the cars are obviously going too fast along Gilmore, north and south, and our little crossing is right in the middle of Gilmore," said Melody Eng, chair of the school's parent advisory council. "We feel the crosswalk isn't what it could be. . We'd like to see the crossing made more visible and safer."
Kitchener is in the Willingdon Heights area and faces Gilmore Avenue. The main crosswalk in front of the school is marked with standard signs that the city provides for local schools, but Eng said it's not enough to slow traffic.
"If you stand out there, you can see how fast the traffic goes," she said. "People are whizzing by."
Eng said drivers could go right through the crosswalk and not see a child stepping out into the street, and there has been at least one case where a child was almost hit by a driver.
About two months ago, Claude Tani was walking his seven-year-old daughter to school when she was nearly struck.
"She was walking in front of me, she stepped out on the crosswalk and a car came zooming by, and I had to pull her back," he said.
One night, Tani and another parent were almost hit while leaving a PAC meeting at the school.
"Both of us had to run off the crosswalk to get out of the way, because the car didn't slow down at all," he said.
The school has had help from volun-teers with a Speed Watch program at the community policing office on Hastings. They stand with radar guns and a sign that tells people how fast they are going and to slow down if they are over the speed limit. People who speed get their licence-plate numbers written down and the community policing office sends out warning letters. Occasionally, RCMP will issue tickets if they are on site. Kitchener also has student crossing guards out after school.
To make matters worse, vehicles parked around the school can limit visibility around the crosswalk, so the City of Burnaby has put up some barricades to limit parking. The parents have also asked for better crosswalk signage from the school district.
Eng has two children attending Kitchener and has been working on this problem for four years. Parents are often out in front of the school, putting out pylons to prevent further parking congestion.
"Every morning, we are out there at 8 a.m.," she says, "It's all on us, its up to the parents to do something. . We're very vocal, it just seems that things don't seem to get done."
David Kilpatrick works for the City of Burnaby's bylaw enforcement office and focuses on traffic safety. He's visited Kitchener to enforce traffic bylaws but hasn't had to issue any tickets since the parking barricades went in last year.
"Kitchener is one of 42 elementary schools I have been going to for a lot of years, but that school has inherent challenges for traffic that are consistent with a lot of schools," he said.
Part of the problem is Gilmore Avenue has a lot of traffic, it's on a hill and there are no curbs in the school block.
Parents dropping kids off in front of the school can be a dangerous practice, Kilpatrick said. It's better to drop them off a block away or in existing designated drop-off areas, he added.
"At the end of the day, the safety around the school really has to do with the attitude of the parents and the drivers alike," he said. "They have to develop and foster an awareness of the concerns when the kids are out in traffic."
Kilpatrick said there's a new set of stairs at the back of the school, installed last summer, where parents can drop their kids off.
"Since that occurred, I've seen a definite improvement," he said.
www.twitter.com/
JenniferMoreau

© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now

Read more: http://www.burnabynow.com/Close+calls+spark+demand+improvements/6048464/story.html#ixzz1kX0OTn00

City of Burnaby bylaw failure or a lack of foresight?

Until I recently attended the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment Open House, I was under the impression that when a brand new house is built, the builders are required by the City of Burnaby to pave a sidewalk along the property or pay the City to pave it for them.  A City of Burnaby representative at the Open House mentioned that individual house builders are not required by law to build a sidewalk when constructing a new house.  The following house at Delta Ave and Halifax St on the west side of Delta Ave was built about 2 years ago and has no sidewalk in front of it.  Lucky for the owner that they don't have to worry about shovelling a sidewalk.  Pedestrians (including children and the elderly) that need to get to Ridgelawn Drive from Brentwood Park Elementary and beyond along Delta are required to walk in the southbound lane on Delta to get to their destination.  As the photos below show, this stretch can be very busy as Brentlawn Drive, Halifax Street and the lane behind Brentlawn Drive all join Delta Ave within a few meters of each other while pedestrians and drivers try to get to wherever they are going.  A lady pushing a baby stroller had to walk in the road to get to her destination.  I think she had just finished dropping her child off at school on Delta Ave.

When walking southbound on the west side of Delta, the sidewalk ends soon after one crosses at Brentlawn Drive.  The absence of a sidewalk continues until Ridgelawn Drive.

Regardless of how this has occurred, somebody has failed somewhere along the line.  The question remains, who is responsible when a tragedy occurs?  We can't just right it off and say "Oops, we never foresaw that happening!"

Almost hit by a car

As I walked up Beta Ave after coming out of the Brentwood Mall parking lot above Sears, a driver that had stopped at the stop sign coming out of the parking lot to Beta Ave nearly accelerated into me after briefly stopping (right after he overshot the stop line).  I guess he didn't notice my extremely large red and white umbrella that I was carrying this rainy evening.  Maybe his headlights were too close to me (he had already overshot the stop line) to illuminate my huge umbrella.  Maybe he was too focused on the car heading north on Beta to notice that I was crossing right in front of him.  Regardless of the reason, he didn't see or notice me until after he made me think that my life (along with this blog) was going to end in an intersection on a cold rainy night in Burnaby (okay I didn't think of it that elaborately at that moment but that is what would have happened).  Luckily he saw me at the last second just as he had seen the stop sign at the last second just moments earlier.  Had he hit me and I survived, the best case scenario would have been that I would have been seriously injured and I would be left blogging all day every day while I recover.

This near accident highlights the need for well-lit pedestrian crossings as well as well-painted markings on the road to guide drivers.  There are many other things that it highlights but those other things are those that only remedial driving courses could resolve.  Is it just me that notices that the markings and signs on our roads are pretty much invisible during dark rainy evenings (which happens to be a majority of the year in Metro Vancouver)?  I am not only saying this as a pedestrian, but as a driver.  If you are driving at night in the rain, you cannot see the lines on the road that separate lanes and intersections.  It's quite unbelievable that our planning departments for cities in Metro Vancouver have never noticed that this is an extremely dangerous situation.  If there is a planner that says that they have indeed noticed this situation, why haven't you done anything?  Is there nobody in Metro Vancouver, who gets paid quite well to create safe roads, that has noticed this glaring (or lack of glare in this case) problem on our roads?  There must be a better paint somewhere that doesn't disappear on a rainy night.  The last time I drove (as is the case every time I drive) I noticed that visibility is pretty important when it comes to traffic and pedestrian safety.  I would say that it is the most important factor in pedestrian and road safety,  Visibility.  Visibility.  Visibility.   If any planners are reading this (I doubt it) they can earn their good pay with this free advice.  No exorbitant consulting fee required.

• brighter paint that doesn't disappear in the rain.
• lighting that makes signs, crosswalks, and lines on the road visible to everyone during our typical winter evenings and not lighting that only allows us to see...lights on top of tall poles.

To city planners everywhere, you're welcome.

The election has come and gone...

...and believe it or not, many may not even have known what kind of election it was let alone have been aware of it at all.  Once again, the participation rate was around 25% of eligible voters.  For some reason, 75% of eligible voters don't feel that voting is important enough to set aside some time.  Enough of my frustrated ranting about voter apathy.

The next 3 years will continue to see changes occurring in the Brentwood area as the city continues to build up the density here.  The Brentwood Mall redevelopment will be the largest project in the area, if not Burnaby and will be an opportunity for local residents to share their concerns and to provide input into what they would like to see for the redevelopment.  This is where the public's direct input can have a direct impact on how the Brentwood area will evolve if enough people have their collective voices heard.

The Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan envisions creating a pedestrian-oriented development according to the City of Burnaby website.  Even with such a bold statement being made, citizens should question what criteria was used to envision a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood.  We should question whether or not the criteria used is current or out-dated.  Is the current criteria for sidewalks good enough to meet the standards of a walkable neighbourhood?  What was considered to be pedestrian-friendly in the 1990's may no longer be good enough to meet our expectations in 2012 and beyond.

Cycling infrastructure must go hand-in-hand with the development both within and outside the Brentwood area as it will become more of a hub of activity for people living in the surrounding areas located outside the Brentwood Town Centre zone.  The widening of Willingdon Ave between Lougheed Hwy and Hastings St is part of a Provincial Government plan to increase traffic flow in the area. Although I don't believe that it is the best idea to add another lane on Willingdon Ave, it should be an opportunity for Burnaby to initiate a collaboration with the Province to build a cycling and pedestrian thoroughfare alongside the widened Willingdon Ave to connect Brentwood to the Burnaby Heights area to the north where community amenities at Confederation Park could be accessed by walking and cycling.  The pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare can be separated by barriers and vegetation to create a buffer along its length to provide an element of safety for pedestrians and to minimize the impact of the road widening on the homes immediately to the east of Willingdon Ave in the Brentwood Park area.There is currently no direct north-south pedestrian or cycling route on either side of Willingdon Ave between Burnaby Heights and Brentwood.  Accessibility between neighbourhoods should not be built around automobiles alone and the addition of a pedestrian/cycling path would begin to remedy the decades-long automobile-centered growth that we continue to witness as I write this post.

Houses along the east side of Willingdon Ave have gradually been torn down to make way for another traffic lane between Lougheed and Hastings.  There should be ample space to add a pedestrian/cycling lane alongside the new lane which would greatly improve the look from its current state of pedestrian unfriendliness.

The Brentwood neighbourhood is going to look much different 10 years from now and the space allocated for pedestrian infrastructure built today must meet our needs 20 years from now and beyond.  It would be a big mistake to not consider our needs decades into the future as it would be more costly to impose harsh reactionary measures later on due to the lack of foresight by our planners today.  The pain of change being felt in neighbouring Vancouver is an example of what I am talking about as the struggle between car-users and cyclists rages on in Downtown.

The City will not know what is expected of its citizens if enough people do not participate in public hearings related to development projects.  The public hearings held at Burnaby City Hall should be standing room only with a steady stream of input and ideas as to what the citizens expect with the Brentwood redevelopment.  People need to start thinking about it now well before the project is announced.  Automobile traffic, walkability, cyclability and density are issues that immediately come to mind.  What do you think?  What needs to be done and what do we need to make Brentwood a complete neighbourhood?

Pedestrian issues shouldn't be an afterthought

In my previous post, I mentioned the need for sidewalks and the reasons why many streets still don't have them in the year 2010. Just like cycling infrastructure that is currently being "forced" upon us (it's not a bad thing) after decades of automobile-centered growth in our cities, sidewalks seem to have been built as an afterthought, or without any consideration for good design and purpose. The result for pedestrians is a lack of safety due to uncontrolled automobile traffic, lack of safety due to poor lighting, lack of convenience due to poor connectivity from "point A to point B" and, among other things but perhaps most importantly, a lack of pedestrians.

This is why a pedestrian advocacy group is needed to brainstorm ideas, attend City Council meetings and public hearings, and to communicate pedestrian concerns to both the City and to the public in the form of letters to local newspapers such as the Burnaby Now and the NewsLeader.

Good sidewalk infrastructure is the foundation for building vibrant neighbourhoods where locals and visitors alike feel safe walking to school, work or the local store. I have already written about the elements of appealing sidewalks and how they would improve neighbourhoods and encourage walking. I know there are many people that have thought about the same issues that I have and certainly other issues that I yet haven't when it comes to pedestrian concerns. If anybody reading this shares the same view as I do and is interested in creating and/or joining a pedestrian advocacy group for Burnaby, please comment on this blog or contact me at brentwoodstation@ymail.com.