Dear Editor:
Council has used its sixth sense: common sense.
The recent 4: 3 decision by the District of North Vancouver council to stay with two westbound lanes on East Keith Road makes sense to our family.
Throughout the decision process, we have noticed that the promoted improved safety of a single lane arrangement was not what we experienced, and that the public consultation process did not appear objective.
In the fall of 2011, the Keith lane arrangement was changed for a short period of time to a single westbound lane along with a dedicated bike lane. My wife and I noticed an immediate change in traffic flow along the road where it intersects with Cloverley Street. The single-lane arrangement produced a steadier stream of westbound traffic with fewer gaps to allow drivers to cross safely onto Keith from Cloverley. This encouraged a tendency to go for it whenever a smaller than-suitable gap in traffic appeared, thus putting other motorists and our family of five at more risk.
The Cloverley intersection was second on the list for accident rates in the study area. Common sense tells us that increasing traffic on Keith during the Low Level Road construction phase, or any future increase in vehicular traffic with the development of the Lower Lynn area, will further decrease the gaps in traffic.
My wife attended the 2012 April public consultation meeting, but was disappointed to find that her concerns regarding safety were met with staff efforts to persuade her of other benefits as outlined on their flashy posters that appeared slanted towards a predetermined outcome of a single-lane arrangement.
Questions in the online survey tended towards a desired response. An example: "Would you be more likely to support the new laning because of additional safety benefits, such as reduced speed, reduced collision risk, and fewer conflicts with pedestrians?" Wow, this sounds like Utopia! Where do I sign up? Of course people would want to say yes to that question.
The results of the online survey indicated that the majority of respondents cycle many times a month, yet once again common sense kicks in and we realize that less than two per cent of people commute by bicycle.
This suggests that the survey did not capture a true cross-section of the population. With a more-than eight-per-cent grade, Keith Road is not well suited for those who might consider taking up cycling as a commuting alternative.
We are thankful that councillors on both sides of the debate came to our neighbourhood and tried to understand the various issues.
While we only spoke to a couple of them directly, we got the sense that they were trying to do the best for the community, and we were prepared to respect whatever decision was ultimately made.
Mark Steunenberg North Vancouver
