Dear Editor:
Re: City of North Van council approves final changes to St. Andrews Avenue
I am writing to express my and many neighbours’ dismay at the 4-3 vote by North Vancouver City council on Jan. 22 to proceed with staff-recommended changes on St. Andrews Avenue from Keith Road to Ninth Street.
Council had multiple opportunities to halt this unnecessary and unneeded project on these six blocks. Doing so would have required leadership from the elected officials to pause the project and direct staff to take a long, hard look at alternative designs. That did not happen. Leadership was denied.
Instead, staff hired three consultants: two to review the design and a third to conduct a pseudo-public engagement process.
Originally, council directed staff to come up with a plan to slow speeds on the street, but as we now know, staff made it about far more than speed.
After two months of backlash from the public, council apologized for how this project was rolled out and how it was communicated. They promised to do better. That did not happen.
Design decisions made by staff provided them with the data used to justify the need for a protected bike lane and allowed them to dismiss HUB Cycling and residents’ recommendation for a neighbourhood bikeway.
The final straw came Jan. 22 when council voted to approve final changes to the street. The vote was 3-3 with Couns. Holly Back, Don Bell and Shervin Shahriari voting against, all with sound reasons for doing so. It certainly looked like those who voted in favour – Couns. Tony Valente, Angela Girard and Jessica McIlroy – held their noses and voted ‘Yes.’
Girard said how the selected concept was a “good option” for keeping everyone happy. It wasn’t.
At that moment, the message to Mayor Linda Buchanan was clear: do the right thing and vote against the recommendation. Buchanan voted in favour, saying “This has been a long and difficult conversation, and I think we can all agree that it’s time to move forward.”
We do not agree it’s time to move forward, Mayor Buchanan. You failed to lead, and supported staff at the expense of the public.
Dennis Hilton
St. Andrews Avenue, North Vancouver
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