Dear Editor:
I am emailing to express my concern with the District of North Vancouver’s apparent lack of transportation planning for the increased density from the pace and scale of residential development in the hope you can include something about this, or this email, in your newspaper. Two examples:
Firstly, the latest residential towers at the Lions Gate development (corner of Capilano Road and Marine Drive) will add 150 cars/hour (for these two towers only and they want to build seven) to the busiest intersection in North Vancouver: the bottleneck at Lions Gate Bridge. The district’s solution is to make minor changes to the roads and encourage residents to walk or bike.
Secondly, traffic is growing exponentially in Edgemont Village, where multiple multi-unit residential buildings are replacing single family homes — the roads were built for single families.
Traffic extends blocks in every direction during busy periods; it’s very difficult for families to get their kids to school and creates unsafe situations for pedestrians. There are no plans in place to ease the increased congestion. The district needs a plan for increased traffic before approving new developments.
While there are plans for a new SeaBus and bus lines, there isn’t enough emphasis on fixing these problems in tandem with building. They can’t simply rezone for development and try to fix the problem after. The next council meeting is Monday, Oct. 3 – go and be heard. This is a great place to live, but only if we don’t have to spend the majority of it idling on our roads.
Glenda Savage
North Vancouver
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