A District of North Vancouver councillor is sounding the alarm over a traffic pattern change that could make driving more of a headache for local traffic accessing Dollarton Highway from the busy Main Street corridor.
Just before a public meeting on Monday, Coun. Lisa Muri said she and the rest of council were briefed by district staff about a plan to change the lining of the eastbound lanes near the Mountain Highway intersection on Main Street approaching the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing.
The new traffic pattern would change the lane slated for local eastbound traffic into a shared lane with vehicles feeding onto the highway onramp. Staff shared a map with council showing the new pattern designed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Since learning of the change, Muri has made it public knowledge by posting to her Facebook page. There, her posts have received hundreds of replies from residents complaining of being held hostage by highway traffic in their own neighbourhoods.
Several likened the scenario to Keith Road heading east, where local drivers are forced to wait behind backlogged vehicles bound for the Mountain Highway interchange.
A petition launched on Tuesday to stop the changes garnered more than 1,000 signatures in two days.
The community’s response on this issue has been overwhelming, Muri said.
“I haven’t had this quick of a response on anything in a very long time. People are absolutely furious,” she said.
What MOTI is suggesting is going to jam the traffic leaving Lynnterm Terminal, Muri said.
“When you are coming up from Lynnterm, south of Main Street up Mountain Highway, people right now have to cross that curb lane to get into the center lane to get into Seymour,” she said.
“You and I could probably go down there right now and watch the load coming from Mountain Highway turning left onto Main to access the ramp, and half the time, people just sit in the intersection because there’s so much traffic … and they’re just going to take their chances.”
District staff told her that MOTI intends to put the new pattern in place once current work on underground pipes in the area wraps up in the coming weeks, Muri said.
If the pattern changes are made, all drivers leaving Lynnwood Marina and Lynnterm, as well as the businesses including Long and McQuade, Cove Bike Shop and Wildeye Brewing, will all get stuck, she said.
“They’re going to get stuck in that traffic and not even be able to cut over and get into that centre lane to go home,” Muri said. “It’s going to be a chaotic disaster.”
'It will have a very negative impact on our traffic,' says North Van MLA
Muri has been reaching out to local MLAs about the issue.
“I believe that it’s the responsibility of the MLAs to know what’s going on in their ridings, and their staff should be briefing them, especially when one riding is going to impact the livability and access to the other,” she said.
North Vancouver-Seymour Susie Chant said she only became aware of the issue on Tuesday.
“I’m very concerned about this,” she said. “I absolutely disagree with the plan.”
Chant said she’s directed her staff to contact MOTI about the changes, and has encouraged District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little to also raise the issue with the ministry.
“It does not look like the community has been involved in being part of this, and it will have a very negative impact on our traffic in that junction,” she said.
The news comes at an awkward time because MLAs have technically ceased to be MLAs as of Sept. 21. In this period, the provincial government has paused normal operations to preserve the integrity of the election. As the government is run by the public service, MLAs don’t have their usual avenues of intervention.
Also, MOTI currently isn’t responding to media requests.
“During the provincial election and interregnum period, government is in a caretaker mode and all government of B.C. communications are limited to critical health and public safety information, as well as statutory requirements,” reads an automatic reply from the ministry.
Still, Chant said she’s pushing for this traffic change to be put on hold until after the election.
“I’m asking to pause any action until better consultation has been done, and we have a plan that is aligned with the needs of North Vancouverites,” Chant said, adding that she had not yet heard back from MOTI staff.
“I’m fighting for North Vancouver to have a say in this significant piece of traffic management,” she said.
Sam Chandola, BC Conservative nominee for North Vancouver-Seymour, released a statement on his website criticizing MOTI under the BC NDP government for making the change without proper consultation.
"The proposed changes will eliminate the dedicated lane for local traffic heading into our riding, forcing North Vancouver-Seymour residents into congested traffic bound for the Second Narrows Bridge," the statement reads. "This decision will lead to longer commutes and increased frustration for our community."
"The real problem lies in our inadequate bridge infrastructure, which is failing to meet our community’s needs. We need to invest in our transportation infrastructure to upgrade the Second Narrow bridge so that all communities can get enough on-ramp lanes to a wider bridge," Chandola wrote.
