West Vancouver's new bus shelters have received a cool response from some residents concerned they're blocking the sidewalk.
Crews began installing the glass and steel structures last week, starting with one at 19th Street and Marine Drive and another at 18th Street, as part of a deal with advertisers Pattison Outdoor. The advertising company has agreed to pay for 36 new shelters throughout the district in return for ad space.
Brian Merth was immediately concerned when he saw the bus stop being built on 19th.
"This poses a number of problems for safety and access to buildings, which are very close," he said, adding they push walkers close to road traffic.
Merth is worried that people walking behind the shelter will trip on the uneven pavement, while in front there are conflicts with bus passengers.
One block away, on 18th Street, Dairy Queen owner Dan Baker voiced the same concerns. At the stop near his business, there is only a small passageway in front of the bus stop and a concrete wall to the rear of it. An indentation in the wall where the previous bus shelter was built sits empty.
"When you're walking up the street, you can't see what's ahead of you," Baker said. "You could be walking right into somebody."
West Vancouver roads supervisor Gary Watt said while the sidewalk is narrower than before, at 1.3 metres wide it's still a safe width.
"A normal sidewalk is 1.5 (metres); there's plenty of room there," he said, although he acknowledged two people might have trouble walking past the shelters side-by-side.
"The minimum safe width for wheelchair accessibility is about 0.9 (metres)," Watt said.
While some previous shelters were built on private property, he said all the new structures are located on public land. In the long run, Watt said it's the district's intention to bump out the sidewalk at the stops so buses don't pull out of traffic, as has been done on 11th Street.
Rob Hunt, pacific region manager for Pattison Outdoor, said his crews have received only positive feedback from residents so far.
