(cc'd to Mayor Read and Councilors Speirs and Duncan)
Hi David,
We at HUB were unaware
that neighbourhood consultation on traffic calming for River Road had taken
place in November 2014, until someone posted some photos on our HUB Maple Ridge
Pitt Meadows facebook group of the barriers that have been put up recently
along River Road. Someone else just today noticed the display boards from the
neighbourhood consultation that are posted on the Maple Ridge website.
As you know, River Road
is being used as a fast commuter route by cyclists. Safety for cyclists has long
been a concern though, with few cyclists other than the "strong and
fearless" being brave enough to use this route. Safety for cyclists has
now become an even greater concern, as the barriers have caused some drivers to
exhibit an even more aggressive behaviour towards cyclists.
As you know, the nearest
east-west long-distance commuter route is Lougheed Highway, which is even more
dangerous. The next one up, the Selkirk route, is unsuitable as a fast commuter
route due to the many stop signs. Dewdney, the next closest east-west route, is
even more dangerous than both River Road and Lougheed. It is unreasonable to
expect cyclists to ride as far north as the 121- or 123 bikeway to find a safer
commuter bike route (distance at 216th: 1 km to 121 route, 1.3 km to 123 route;
at 207 St 1.6 km; at 224th 1.1 km to 121 route and 1.8 km to the 123 route ,
with a very steep hill). For this reason, it is important that cyclists'
concerns are considered with regard to any traffic calming measures on River
Road.
We would like to request
the Engineering Department to immediately take the following measures all along
River Road:
- put up Share the Road signs
- paint sharrows
These are the absolute
minimum requirements to - marginally - improve safety for cyclists on River
Road.
River Road was clearly
designed to be a low speed, low volume residential road. Too many drivers are
choosing River Road to avoid the traffic lights on Lougheed. To reduce
rat-running, and to reduce the present traffic volumes that are not appropriate
for this type of street, we would like the City to consider allowing left and
right turns only at 216th or Laity Street, except for bicycles, through the use
of bike-permeable diverters.
It is important for
cyclists to have a fine grained network with lower traffic speeds that can be
shared with cars, whereas drivers should be offered a coarse grained network of
arterials for higher speed driving. It's important to preserve - and where
possible improve - the few east-west routes cyclists have, in order to offer
cyclists as well as pedestrians a truly multi-modal transportation
network.
With kind regards,
Jackie Chow
HUB Cycling
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
Chapter
Here are some photos of the barriers that were installed:
Here are some photos of the barriers that were installed:
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