While they may not have a key to gridlock just yet, District of North Vancouver council is still lurching forward on its plan to help bridge traffic go from worse to bad.
With three to four collisions per week on the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, crash-based congestion has become a “North Shore-wide problem,” according to Mayor Richard Walton.
Discussing the issue Monday, council mulled several initiatives intended to ease traffic tie-ups including an emergency pullout at the north end of the Ironworkers where damaged cars could be towed. The pullout would be part of the Main Street/Dollarton Highway interchange set for completion in 2021.
There may also be more tow trucks to serve that stretch of road, as the push trucks that shove stalled vehicles over the bridge are set to be complemented by both flatbed and conventional tow trucks as well as a heavy wrecker stationed near the Cassiar Tunnel that could take handle big commercial vehicles.
A more fundamental shift has been to draw a different border down the Ironworkers. Previously, the bridge was divided mid-span, meaning fire crews from Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver would regularly cross the bridge in order to turn around and get to the other side, effectively slowing traffic on both sides of the bridge.
The new agreement, signed in June 2017, draws the border along the bridge’s median, meaning the district handles southbound lanes and leaves northbound lanes to Vancouver.
“Sounds simple. Makes a difference,” said district engineer Erin Moxon.
“It took 57 years for us to figure out that it’s easier to split the bridge down the middle,” Walton said, noting that sometimes simple question are asked last.
The new measures are largely a product of getting everyone in the same room, according to district chief administrative officer David Stuart. A district staff report includes the City of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, the RCMP, B.C. Ambulance, ICBC and the Ministry of Transportation among the agencies consulted.
While he said it was nice to see some forward progress, Coun. Roger Bassam pointed out that the 2018 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention represents “the roadblock in front of us.”
Currently, police are obligated to conduct an accident investigation on any smash that results in more than $1,000 worth of damage. Council’s previous motion, which was rebuffed pending further study at the 2017 UBCM, would have raised that threshold to $10,000.
UBCM recommendations are currently being prepared, according to Stuart.
The RCMP have the sole authority to remove vehicles from provincial highways.
