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Quicken crash clearing: District of North Vancouver

Fire, police services support planned motion to unlock gridlock on bridge
DNV

A method to deal with stalled vehicles may be to just get them off the road.

That was the consensus among District of North Vancouver councillors as they unanimously advocated reworking the Motor Vehicle Act Monday to allow quicker clearing of stalls and crashes.

Currently, any collision resulting in more than $1,000 in damage necessitates a “time-consuming accident investigation” by police, noted a district staff report.

In “which century” was that rule drafted, queried Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn, who threw his support behind the motion.

The motion makes a case for raising the threshold for police investigations to $10,000, thereby allowing the fender benders that frequently clog bridge traffic to be moved aside.

“Even the most minor accidents nowadays result in vehicle damage over $1,000,” stated a report by district project manager Erin Moxon. While there are approximately three collisions each week on the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, the majority of those crashes are minor, according to Moxon.

The issue of who clears the stationary cars was also raised. Currently, the removal of any damaged vehicle blocking a provincial highway must be executed – or at least approved – by police. However, the report argued for allowing maintenance contractors to clear cars in the case of less severe collisions.

Before collisions are cleared, police need to fill out an accident form. However, the report supported a pilot program allowing firefighters – who are often first on the scene of an accident – to save time by filling out those forms.

When the dust settles in Victoria, the Minister of Transportation needs to get involved, said MacKay-Dunn, who noted the effect of traffic jams on the economy.

“The solution really lies at the provincial level,” agreed Mayor Richard Walton, who said he will seek support from the North Shore’s four MLAs.

The motion got a rave review from frequent council watcher and sometime frustrated commuter Eric Andersen. “I have rarely seen – if ever – a staff motion with which I agree so much.”

While senior levels of government recently committed to a $200-million project to streamline traffic streaming off the Cut onto the Second Narrows, these less costly measures are “totally logical,” according to Andersen.

The district plans to put the motion forward at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in September.

The report’s recommendations are supported by fire and rescue services from the District and City of North Vancouver, West Vancouver police and fire departments, North Vancouver RCMP and RCMP Freeway Patrol.