Complete network of barrier free sidewalks must be a priority

It has been a while since I have talked about the importance of sidewalks in creating complete neighborhoods (sidewalks) and how the current system of sidewalk-building wrongfully places the burden of building those sidewalks on existing property owners.  In a region where property values have unreasonably soared beyond the reach of new buyers, the property tax burden has accordingly increased for existing property owners, putting more tax dollars into government coffers.  That revenue coupled with increased revenues from the density bonus funds collected by the City of Burnaby should allow the city to spare some funds for improving our network of sidewalks for people with disabilities.  In 2018, we should not be allowing disabled people to struggle with getting around their neighborhoods like the poor fellow in the Bunaby Now article below.

BURNABY NOW

Scooter rider says Burnaby sidewalks are harrowing

A senior worries about safety along Smith Avenue in the Metrotown area

Maria Rantanen

 / Burnaby Now

OCTOBER 13, 2018 11:38 AM

Wayne McQueen navigates the bumps and broken sections of sidewalk along Smith Avenue in the Metrotown area in his motorized scooter

The 71-year-old manages to be mobile in his scooter despite having a condition called charcot foot, a result of his diabetes, which can cause the bones in his feet to break if he walks. But he doesn’t understand why a big city like Burnaby can’t get its sidewalks into shape for people like him in scooters or mothers pushing strollers.

“It’s very hard to manoeuvre with a mobility device,” McQueen said, adding that he’d like to see ramps on all corners along Smith Avenue. “It also would help young women with their strollers to have a ramp.”

At Smith and Sandell, the sidewalk, which is only on one side of the street, ends with no curb letdown, but a pathway going east with bark mulch allows McQueen to eventually cross the street. Father down at Hertford and Smith again there is no curb letdown and McQueen turns east and goes down half a block till he can access the road where there is a private driveway, then he rides along the street until he finds another driveway to get back onto the sidewalk.

In places, there are small, steep inclines on the sidewalk beside a driveway where he gathers speed in his scooter to make it up the hill, something that make him fearful for his safety.

“I could have tipped the thing over backward because it’s too steep,” he said of the sidewalk beside a driveway.

McQueen said he often feels very nervous riding his scooter in traffic as he goes down Smith Avenue to his doctor’s appointment with traffic.

“I think (city officials) need to take into consideration standards for making things mobility-safe – that doesn’t seem to be their priority, that’s just my opinion,” McQueen said, who has lived in Burnaby since 2008.

Public Realm Design Standards for Town Centre Streets

As Brentwood continues to change with current and future developments on the books, we will begin to see increased street-level human activity.

The City of Burnaby has posted guidelines for street and sidewalk design in its town centres.  Brentwood Town Centre is mentioned with a map of the area included.  The following images and more detailed information are available for viewing on the City of Burnaby website through the link below:

https://eagenda.burnaby.ca/sirepub/cache/2/4lflounqx3uk0ljtonits1tz/611801192015104944811.PDF

Road Work at Willingdon and Lougheed

The intersection at Lougheed and Willingdon is a busy place lately as road and sidewalk work continues with SOLO District in the backdrop.  Of course, with the work comes the traffic delays.

Willingdon northbound is getting underground improvements...

...as the sidewalk south of Lougheed Hwy gets widened. 

The Solo District site now has 3 cranes at work...

...as the Brentwood Project nears its 2014 groundbreaking.

New sidewalks on Graveley

I just noticed that Graveley St west of Willingdon Ave has gotten new sidewalks.  It wouldn't have been worth mentioning had there already been sidewalks there in the first place.  These sidewalks are going in decades after houses were first built there.  I guess it's better late than never.

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

New sidewalks and streetlights for Lougheed Hwy

Another step towards improving walkability in the area is being taken as the City of Burnaby will be paving new sidewalks on both sides of Lougheed Hwy from Douglas Rd to east of Holdom Ave.  The project will also see the installation of streetlights between Douglas Rd and Sperling Ave.  The total cost of the project will be $900, 000 to be shared 50/50 with TransLink.  Sidewalks have been sorely needed along that stretch of Lougheed since the 90s as people (myself included) trying to get to the bus stops along that stretch have had to walk on the shoulder along Lougheed Hwy with cars whizzing by.

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!"

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.

Local Area Service Program prevents sidewalk construction

There are many streets in Burnaby, some right here in the Brentwood area, that have no sidewalks in place to provide a safe place for pedestrians to walk along. One such street is Graveley St between Willingdon and Carleton Aves. Although new developments require the builder to provide sidewalks along the roads that they build on, many neighbourhoods that preceded current by-laws making sidewalks mandatory have been left without a place for people to walk (other than on the road).

The sidewalk on Whitsell Ave physically ends at Graveley Ave. A view of Graveley in either direction, shows an incomplete and inadequate sidewalk.

View Larger Map

On the surface, the The City of Burnaby's Local Area Service Program seems to be a progressive, sidewalk-friendly program to improve neighbourhoods. However, when one looks at the steps required to have a sidewalk installed in a neighbourhood that already doesn't have one, it becomes evident that the program is an excuse not to build sidewalks.

On it's website, the City describes the program as a way for homeowners to improve their street and consequently "enhance" their properties. By wording it in such a way, The City is making it sound as if the sidewalk is of benefit only to the people living on the street and not to anyone else. It is a fact that sidewalks are a benefit to anyone that needs to get from one place to another by walking. Furthermore, it is not an issue of enhancement, but of safety. It is ridiculous that a parent must push a baby stroller along Graveley, on the road in between parked cars to avoid moving vehicles. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of both the City and property owners to have sidewalks built. A sidewalk is not private property over which homeowners have reign and is therefore the responsibility of the city and the public. That is what being a part of the community is all about.

Under the current program, residents of a street must canvas the neighbours on their block and obtain a minimum number of signatures supporting the building of a sidewalk. This is a major hindrance to sidewalk construction because many people will not support the idea if they are required to pay for its construction. In my opinion, the building of sidewalks in residential areas (where they already don't exist) must be mandatory, and the expense burdened by both the City and the residents of the street.

If funding is the issue, the City must get creative to raise funds. For example, if a company such as the Bank of Montreal funds the construction of 3 blocks of sidewalk in exchange for the right to advertise its brand and products on posts situated at intervals along its length, it might be a good option if done right. The only option that homeowners should have is on how to fund the sidewalk and not whether or not they want a sidewalk in front of their home.

In my opinion, the Brentwood area, if not all of Burnaby, needs a pedestrian advocacy group. I'm not talking about pedestrian activism, but about an organization that brings about awareness of important pedestrian issues that the City must consider if it wants to create complete neighbourhoods. Ultimately, sidewalks enhance not only the properties along which they are built, but the overall neighbourhood and city. I've already written about what elements could make sidewalks more appealing (Appealing Sidewalks). In the case of Graveley St, it would be nice just to have a sidewalk.

Appealing sidewalks would make Burnaby's Brentwood better

Born and raised in Metro Vancouver, I never realized how poorly designed our neighbourhoods are from a pedestrian's perspective. I always accepted the fact that pedestrians get sprayed by passing vehicles on a rainy day in winter or get burnt to a crisp on a hot sunny day in summer and that it can't be helped. Then I realized during a trip to Tokyo that Metro Vancouver pedestrians endure such harsh conditions because municipal planners here either lack vision and/or don't care when it comes to sidewalk construction. Our cities have been built with automobile commuting as the foundation of their design. It's no wonder that for most people in Metro Vancouver that were born and raised here, their car is the preferred mode of getting around the neighbourhood and beyond.

An example of sidewalks that lack one simple feature (and would not have cost any more money to pave) are the relatively new sidewalks extending north and west from the intersection of Delta Ave and Lougheed Hwy. A stroll (climb if you're going up Delta) along either sidewalk on a bright sunny day will quickly turn into an unpleasant experience due to the glare caused by the sun's rays reflecting off of the white-coloured pavement. The reflection causes an unbearable strain on the eyes and irritation for the skin. Simply choosing a darker colour for the pavement would resolve that problem and may encourage more people to use those sidewalks.

Sidewalk on the east side of Delta Ave near Lougheed Hwy

Sidewalk on the north side of Lougheed Hwy near Delta Ave

Elements of an appealing sidewalk

A sidewalk should have at least 4 (if not all) of the following elements to make it appealing for pedestrians to use. The first 4 elements should be mandatory for all sidewalks, whether along side streets or along major roads.

1. Ramps at both ends of the sidewalk to allow access for baby strollers and wheelchairs
2. Textured markings for the visually impaired
3. Adequate lighting for increased safety at night
4. Non-glaring sidewalk colour
5. Vegetative cover in the form of trees and vegetative barriers in the form of shrubs along the outer edge of the sidewalk
6. Solid barriers separating the sidewalk from adjacent vehicle traffic
7. Enough width to allow at least 3 adults to walk shoulder-to-shoulder along its length
8. Safe intersections that include wide crosswalks with a significant setback for cars stopped at the intersection.

Ramps

Ramps that allow for wheelchair and baby stroller access should be a standard requirement for all sidewalks that have curbs. It is saddening to see a senior riding their scooter on the road because ramp access is non-existent on random sidewalks in Burnaby. Believe it or not, there are many places where a wheelchair-bound person will go down a ramp and cross the street only to come to a curb on the other side because a ramp was not included in the design of the next block.

Textured Markings

Textured markings at intersections and along the length of sidewalks have been used in Tokyo for more than 10 years and are becoming more common. They are an important element in creating a "barrier-free" sidewalk that considers visually impaired members of the community.

Lighting

A major deterrent to walking is lack of lighting during dark evenings and early mornings. When sidewalks are inconsistently lit, the issue of safety draws people to their cars for short trips even when a walk could have taken 10 minutes or less. The light in the street lamp should allow people to see the sidewalk (not just the lamp itself).

Non-glaring Pavement

A sidewalk that allows you to walk on it without you having to squint to see where you are going on a bright sunny day is preferable to this eye-straining slab of concrete (left) on Delta Ave. This sidewalk offers only 1 of the 8 elements of an appealing sidewalk (not so appealing).

The sidewalks leading up to this intersection in Tokyo are examples of non-glaring sidewalks that have 6 of 8 elements of an appealing sidewalk.

Vegetative Cover

While the trees provide shade on a sunny day, the shrubs situated along the edge of the sidewalk along the street provide protection from cars spraying water onto pedestrians.

Protective Barriers

One morning in 1990, as I walked along Parker Street towards Alpha Secondary School, I heard the loud noise of car tires skidding. As I turned around to see what was happening, a car jumped the curb and skidded towards me on the sidewalk. It skidded out of control for about 40 feet before it came to a halt 3 feet from where I was standing. The visibly shaken driver got out of the car, asked me if I was okay, got back into the car and drove away. I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't seriously injured or killed and continued on to school as if nothing unusual had happened.

Every once in a while, a news story emerges about a pedestrian being killed by a vehicle entering the sidewalk during a crash. Protective barriers would not only prevent such unnecessary pedestrian deaths, but make pedestrians feel safer when using sidewalks.

Although the likelihood of a car entering a sidewalk may be low, as the following video suggests it is 100 % likely to happen if it veers towards a sidewalk during a crash if barriers are not present.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to be hurt as there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk during the accident.

Basic barriers to prevent cars from jumping the curb and smashing into pedestrians and minimizing the fear of it happening are good things.

Some barriers can add an element of beauty to a sidewalk and its neighourhood.

Some barriers provide a great place to park your bicycle.

Despite the lack of space in an old, densely populated city such as Tokyo, narrow sidewalks on slow side streets have the protection of barriers to make up for the lack of width.

Wide Sidewalks

Wide sidewalks allow one to pass oncoming pedestrians on a rainy day without having to bring down your umbrella because there is enough space. The sidewalk should allow enough space for 2 baby strollers to pass each other without one of them having to pull aside.

Wide sidewalks along major commercial streets allow large numbers of pedestrians to get around with relative ease which would encourage more people to get around on foot.

This is the kind of sidewalk (and commercial frontage) that is needed along at least 2 blocks in all 4 directions from the intersection at Lougheed Hwy and Willingdon Ave.

This sidewalk on the east side of Willingdon Ave, stretching northbound from Midlawn Drive to Pender Street, is not only scary to walk on, but embarrassing to look at. For a major road, this sidewalk is inadequate at best on my rating scale. It has 1 out of 8 elements of an appealing sidewalk (no glare on a sunny day).

If improved from its current unsightly state, this roughly 1.5 km stretch of sidewalk would serve as a major pedestrian route connecting the Brentwood area to the amenities offered by the Eileen Daily Recreation Centre, McGill Library and Confederation Park to the north. An important street such as this must have all 8 elements of an appealing sidewalk as it should serve as a walkway that connects pedestrians to and from the Burnaby Heights and Brentwood neighbourhoods.

Pedestrian-Friendly Intersections and Crosswalks

As is often the case, whenever a car overshoots the stop line during a red light, the car ends up encroaching onto the crosswalk, forcing pedestrians to detour around the car and dangerously into the path of crossing cars. This intersection (left) is an example of a pedestrian-unfriendly intersection at Lougheed Hwy and Madison Ave.

These are examples of pedestrian friendly intersections.

These Tokyo intersections provide a large setback for stopped cars and wide, well marked crosswalks that are not easily encroached upon by aggressive drivers. Notice the existence of a barrier at the intersection (upper photo).

Appealing sidewalks are an important component of pedestrian-oriented neighbourhoods. Their appeal should bring local residents out to explore their neighbourhood on foot and bicycle instead of by car, whether day or night.