East 29th Street Safety Improvements

We're working with the District of North Vancouver to improve safety for the people who walk, bike, take transit, or drive along East 29th St between Lonsdale Ave and Lynn Valley Rd.

The overall project is shown in the image below (download the full map), broken into two phases. The phases are described in further detail under Improvement Plan, below.

Phase 1 (i.e. 2019 - E 29th Street, in blue) from Regent Avenue to Lynn Valley Rd is complete.
Phase 2 (i.e. 2020 - E 29th Street, in red) from Lonsdale to Brand Street has been postponed due to COVID-19; work will resume in 2022.

Information about major traffic changes will be updated on large signs within the construction zone, when project work is anticipated to impact traffic. To facilitate the safety improvements, including the introduction of left turn lanes, street parking between St. Marys Ave and Fromme Rd will be permanently removed.

Improvement Plan

An improvement plan based on data and community input.

We are taking a balanced approach to prioritizing safety improvements for everyone.

We consulted with neighbours, cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, and commuters, and listened to valuable input from the community.

The feedback we received from our community, along with traffic safety studies and collision statistics for the area, helped shape the safety improvements planned for East 29th Street. The final design for 29^th St safety improvements include:

Pedestrians

New crosswalks: St. Georges Ave, St. Mary's Ave, Tempe Glen Dr, and Regent Ave. (Three with pedestrian activated flashing LED beacons)
New sidewalk: north side of East 29th St (Lonsdale Ave to Lynn Valley Rd) completing sections where no sidewalk existed
Full traffic signal: replaces four-way stop at William Ave

Cyclists

New cycling route: along 27th St from St. Georges Ave to Tempe Cres.
Protected, two-way bike lanes: Tempe Cres to Tempe Glen Dr on the south side of East 29th St.
Crossing with flashing beacons: at Royal Ave, to assist cyclists to safely access the new two-way cycle path and bike route on Tempe Cres.
Buffered bike lanes: east of Royal Ave to Lynn Valley Rd in both eastbound and westbound directions.
Westbound cycle track: protected by on-street parking between Fromme Rd and Lynn Valley Rd.

Transit

New crosswalks: close to bus stops
Completed sidewalk sections: for safe access to and from bus stops.

Drivers

New left turn bays: St. Georges Ave, St. Andrews Ave, William Ave, Somerset (east) Tempe Cres (east) and restrictions to west bound left turns into the west entrances of Somerset, Brand and Tempe to Improve safety and traffic flow
On-street parking was removed to facilitate many of the proposed safety improvements. Parking has been retained where possible and safe to do so.
Full traffic signal: at William Ave, to improve safety, reduce vehicle delay, and increase capacity and efficiency through the intersection.
Painted buffer zone: next to curb to improve driveway access

Roadwork

Phase 1: 2019 Roadwork

Much of the work has already been completed on 29th Street. Highlights are below (download the map).

Phase 2: 2022 Roadwork

During summer 2019, staff were engaged with local residents to listen to feedback and comments on the design. It was identified that there was a need to redesign part of the project in response to this feedback.

Advancing the design and construction of Phase 2 has been postponed due to the impacts of COVID-19, but will resume in 2022. Highlights of the design are shown below (download the map).

The Process So Far

There has been a long history of anecdotal correspondence received relating to safety concerns on 29th Street. In 2016, we began working with the District of North Vancouver to improve safety on East 29th St. between Lonsdale Avenue and Lynn Valley Rd.

In 2016, we went to the community to hear opinions from local residents about East 29th Street. Some of the major findings of this process include:

It was challenging to cross the road as a pedestrian or as a cyclist.
Vehicle Speeds were too fast.
Driveway access was difficult due to vehicle speeds and poor sightlines in particular locations.

In 2017, a Traffic Safety Study was undertaken to assess speed data, ICBC incident data, design safety and road design in the context on municipal master plans for 29th Street.

Major Findings & Recommendations

Some of the major findings included:

There were 316 crashes in the period between 2006 & 2015. Significantly higher then what would be expected for the volume of traffic on the road.
The majority of these incidents were rear end and turning collisions. This Indicates road users have difficulty negotiating left turning traffic on this roadway.
15% of road speeds were recorded in excess of 10km/h over the speed limit.
The road is designated as an east west cycle route (via Tempe Cres. to avoid the hill), however there are no cyclists facilities to mention.
Limited sightlines when exiting driveways.
Limited marked crossings in corridor & missing sections of sidewalks.

The recommendations taken forward following the study and input from residents were to:

Complete gaps in sidewalks.
Create crosswalks at key intersections of St. Georges Ave, St. Mary’s Ave, Regent Ave & Tempe Glen Drive.
Install bike lanes from Lynn Valley Road to Tempe Crescent.
Create dedicated left turning lanes.
Upgrade William Avenue intersection with traffic lights and signalized crosswalks.
Improve safety when entering and exiting driveways.

Improvement Plan & Community Feedback

This drove the creation of the Improvement Plan* and the creation of concept designs with a variety of options for intersection improvements. These were taken to the community and feedback was sought through both an open house and an online survey. The feedback from the residents emphasized the demand for on street parking particularly near Lynn Valley Road and Lonsdale Ave. The comments were carried into the detailed design and in 2019 Construction notification was sent to local residents.

Further concerns were raised by residents following the construction notification. In the eastern portion of the project, changes implemented to the design following these concerns were minor and construction proceeded. In the western portion of the project, the City of North Vancouver felt that there were changes made which warranted further discussions with residents.

Feedback from the residents for the western section raised the following concerns:

The proposed left turn lanes may increase shortcutting via residential streets to skip the Lonsdale Ave intersection.
Some left turns are unsafe and should be removed.
Sightlines are still a concern entering and exiting driveways.
Bus stop locations should reflect crossing facilities.

The new design for the 2020 section of works, re-worked after the Construction note was sent out in 2019, reflects these concerns. Download the design map, or view in Improvement Plan, above.

2019 Public Information Session

In early November 2019 we met with members of the local community to inform them about the 2020 portion of the work. Some of the major points of feedback we heard were:

Short Cutting – There are various concerns about shortcutting in the neighbourhood south of 29^th. Some of these concerns were addressed with the installation of speed bumps,
Left turn restrictions into St. Andrews Ave, Tempe Crescent, Brand Street and Somerset Street may inconvenience local resident and businesses and put more traffic onto St. Georges. However, safety concerns and benefits to crossing location were noted and agreed with in many cases.
Eastbound Bus Stop at St. Andrews staying in its current location is a good idea.
Parking removal on 300 & 400 block is not necessary, there is difficulty entering and exiting driveways and it was felt change would make it harder.

As we finalize the design for Phase 2 of the 29^th Street project we will take this feedback into account. This information will also be used as a starting point for other projects in the neighbourhood.

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