The North Shore’s R2 RapidBus is about to get a bit more elbow room through one of the most congested corridors of its route.
The City of North Vancouver and TransLink are set to begin a six-month construction project to extend the eastbound transit lane along Third Street and Cotton Road to Gladstone Avenue. Currently, the transit lane ends about two-thirds of the way down the hill from Queensbury Avenue, requiring the R2 to merge with general traffic for about 650 metres before getting back to a bus lane.
That gap in the express lane has significant consequences for the 40,000 transit riders commuting through that stop-and-go corridor per month. According to TransLink, a typical trip between Ridgeway Avenue and Brooksbank Avenue should take about three minutes, although in reality, half of the trips take six minutes or more. During the afternoon rush hour, 20 per cent of trips through that short section extend to nine minutes or longer. TransLink calculates that to mean 320,000 minutes, or 5,333 hours, per year wasted sitting idle in traffic.
The hope is that by speeding up the overall performance of the R2 and getting that travel time back down to the typical three minutes, it will make transit a more competitive option with driving a personal auto, thereby further reducing traffic congestion.
Also included in the project is a new separated eastbound mobility lane on Cotton Road.
Starting in July, crews will begin removing and rebuilding the concrete medians through that stretch, relocating traffic signals and light poles and painting new lines. The project will require three poplar trees to be cut down and five Maple trees to be transplanted.
To mitigate the impacts on commuters during the construction period, work hours will be between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. and occasionally overnight in order to keep crews off the road during the afternoon rush.
One travel lane in each direction should be open at all times, and all of the affected cross streets and local businesses will still be accessible, according to the city.
TransLink is covering the budget for the infrastructure upgrade.
