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DNV puts extra $741K into East 29th; cycling improvements to be determined

The vote was unanimous but not definitive.
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The vote was unanimous but not definitive.

District of North Vancouver council eventually put $741,000 toward improvements along East 29th Street between Lonsdale and William avenues including: new left turn lanes, crosswalks, and some yet to be determined improvements for cyclists.

Accommodating bicycle traffic was a sticking point during the May 6 meeting with several councillors casting doubt on the prospect of shared bike/vehicles lanes in a segment along the route.

“A bike lane is only as strong as its weakest link and in this one the weakest link is the shared bike lane,” said Coun. Mathew Bond. “I have a lot of concerns about putting in what I would say is a substandard bike facility for a very short section of roadway.”

Coun. Megan Curren expressed similar misgivings.

“For me cars and bikes are not always the best combo,” she said. “I can’t see cycling, B-Line, pedestrians and parking . . . happening in that area.”

The plan is a “good start” but incomplete, agreed Coun. Jordan Back.

“As far as bike facilities go, we’re really going just part of the way here.”

With five councillors in attendance, acting mayor Jim Hanson called for the vote twice. Both times, only two councillors – Hanson and Coun. Betty Forbes – voted in favour of spending the money.

With council poised to reject the project – which is slated to coincide with paving set for this summer – district chief administrative officer Dave Stuart asked council to pinpoint their reasons for opposition.

“We can always make amendments to [the project] if they’re relatively minor,” he told council.

Ultimately, council approved spending the cash on the condition district staff report back before construction begins to address cycling in the corridor.

The total cost for the summer work is $1.22 million, with $482,000 already allocated from a variety of sources including $330,000 from the City of North Vancouver. The portion of 29th Street between Lonsdale and Duchess avenues is split between the two municipalities with the south side belonging to the city and the north side the property of the district. The district controls of the area east of Duchess.

While she praised the overall design as a good compromise, Forbes raised concerns about the risk of cyclists being doored, particularly in the section near William Avenue.

“It’s such a small area there, I’d like to see the parking eliminated,” she said.

Parking along the stretch east of Duchess Avenue tends to be used by residents without rear access to their homes, according to district staff.

“If we got rid of the street parking I think we’d have some challenges with the residents,” explained district engineering service manager Steve Ono. 

The plan includes losing seven parking stalls near Regent Avenue in order to “provide a safe space for drivers to wait until turning left at Brand Street, Regent Avenue and Somerset Street.”

The route doubles as a regional east-west connector when traffic backs up on the Upper Levels, “compounding existing safety and operational deficiencies,” a staff report noted.

Other problems along East 29th Street include gaps in the sidewalks, no dedicated cycling space and close calls caused by drivers reversing out of driveways as well as left-turners being rear-ended.

There were 319 crashes along East 29th between 2006 and 2015, an average of 2.6 per month.

 Mayor Mike Little and Coun. Lisa Muri attended the early portion of the meeting but were absent during this debate.