Changes to the 246 Highlands bus route mean North Shore residents are waiting longer and walking further to get where they want to go or just skipping the bus altogether.
TransLink changed the routing of the 246 Highland bus in June so all buses go to downtown Vancouver rather than Park Royal, not just during peak hours as before. As well, evening bus frequency was cut to once an hour from every half hour.
Aside from that, the bus now turns left on Capilano Road from Marine Drive instead of Garden Avenue, stopping at a new bus stop there thats just a sign pole on an empty sidewalk and bypassing the sheltered stop on Marine Drive.
The route change means riders like Hilda ten Cate have to cross nine lanes of traffic over Marine Drive to transfer between buses when theyre coming from Park Royal, and often have to wait an extra half hour with no bench before the bus arrives in the evening.
Its very unsafe, she said. Of course now its still light, but wait until its November, five oclock and pouring rain. An able-bodied person can walk that if you step off the curb and go, but somebody whos any bit slow wont make it.
The Marine Drive and Capilano Road intersection has the highest number of injuries and ICBC claim costs of any on the North Shore, and ten Cate said the traffic signal is too short for many senior residents to get across in one light. Shes worried someones going to get hurt.
She and several neighbours near Highlands have all written letters to TransLink and the district complaining about the change, but the transit authority says Garden Avenue isnt an option anymore.
Thats because the new bus lane and bridge approach construction eliminated the left-turn lane off Marine Drive onto Garden, making the corner too difficult for buses.
It was very difficult to kind of stickhandle through all these, said TransLink spokesman Drew Snider. We knew there were going to be some people impacted by this, and we had to say: This is the best we can do.
Snider said service was cut purely because of ridership, adding any bus operating at less than 10 per cent of capacity gets reviewed. The average trip had just 12 boardings, he said.
That explanation doesnt square with Chris Radziminski, a resident of Edgemont who also relied on the bus service. Buses elsewhere are exempt from left-turn restrictions, he said, and the impact on traffic for Capilano Road is just as bad.
Lowering frequency on a low-demand route will just lower demand even further, he said, adding he now takes his bike home from downtown events instead of the bus.
I know that several neighbours are (too), he said.
Ten Cate also said she would use her car more often. Its like the reverse Field of Dreams strategy. If you take it away, people will go away. . . . If theres not enough riders, why not use a community shuttle or something?
The District of North Vancouver did complete work on the Marine Drive and Capilano Road intersection, expanding the median space, removing a right-turn slip lane onto Capilano Road and adding pedestrian-countdown timers, new LED crossing lights, and more time to the traffic signal to allow pedestrians to cross.
Mayor Richard Walton, also chairman of the TransLink mayors council, said he had heard concerns from residents on Garden Avenue about the buses as well as complaints from residents about the change in routing for the 246.
He said he had passed concerns along to staff and TransLink, and said often changes to routes get altered again to smooth out problems.
In particular, he was worried about the lower nighttime frequency, especially for trips from Park Royal, but admitted sometimes funding constraints mean theres not much they can do.
Thats a real concern, because were trying to encourage people to take the bus, said Walton. The problem is when we have people accessing those routes and theres very, very low ridership, its extremely expensive.
He said the district is looking to provide a bench, but that space was an issue at the new stop.
