East 29th Street Safety Improvements

Over a two-year period from 2016 – 2018, the City and District of North Vancouver engaged with neighbours, cyclists, pedestrians, transit users and commuters, and listened to valuable input from the community. The feedback we received, along with a technical review, traffic safety study and collision statistics for the area, helped shape the safety improvements planned for East 29th Street. 

Phase One - 2019 Roadwork

This work was completed in 2019. Highlights are below (download the map).

• New crosswalks with pedestrian activated flashing beacons at Tempe Glen Dr and Regent Ave
• New sidewalk on the north side of East 29th St (Lonsdale Ave to Lynn Valley Rd) completing sections where no sidewalk existed
• Full traffic signal replacing the four-way stop at William Ave
• Protected, two-way bike lanes from Tempe Cres to Tempe Glen Dr on the south side of East 29th St
• Painted buffered bike lanes east of Royal Ave to Lynn Valley Rd in both eastbound and westbound directions
• New left turn bays at Somerset (east), Tempe Cres (east) and William Ave
• Removal of on-street parking to facilitate many of the proposed safety improvements. 
• Right sized travel lanes to encourage driver speeds aligned with the posted speed limit.
• Painted buffer zone next to curb to improve driveway access/egress.
• Paving to improve road surface conditions
  
   

Phase Two - 2020 Roadwork

The proposed design for phase two was presented in 2020 and is shown below. Advancing the design and construction of phase two was postponed due to the impacts of COVID-19. Learn more in The Engagement Process, below (download the map).

1. New left turn lane for westbound traffic turning south and signal timing adjustment at Lonsdale
2. Improvements to the intersection of St Georges including painted crosswalks and protected left turn lanes
3. Speed bumps on St Georges to discourage speeding and shortcutting
4. Restricted left turn lane access to western entrances of Somerset, Brand and Tempe
5. Painted buffer zones westbound St Andrews to Somerset and eastbound St Marys to Regent
6. Pedestrian activated crosswalk with curb bulge at 29th and St Marys

There has been a long history of correspondence received by municipal staff relating to safety concerns on 29th Street. In 2016, the City 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 engaged with the community to learn about the experience of local residents and receive feedback 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.
• Driver speeds were too fast.
• Driveway access was reported to be 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 from the Traffic Safety Study included:

• 316 crashes in the period between 2006 & 2015. Significantly higher than 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), without any cycling facilities to support safer conditions for cyclists.
• There are limited sightlines when exiting driveways.
• There are limited marked crossings along the corridor & missing sections of sidewalks.

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

• Complete gaps in sidewalks on 29th.
• 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 throughout the corridor.
• 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 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 residents emphasized the desire for on-street parking particularly near Lynn Valley Road and Lonsdale Ave.

These comments were carried into the detailed design and the improvements were implemented from Regent Avenue to Lynn Valley Road by the District of North Vancouver in 2019 (Phase One Roadwork).

The City received additional feedback from residents on the planned improvements from Lonsdale to Regent Avenue and in response, paused this phase of the project to reconnect with the community and consider further design modifications for this section of the project. 

This feedback included 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. 

2019 Public Information Session

In November 2019, the City met with members of the local community to present a revised design that reflected their concerns and inform them about the second phase of work.

We received further input from the community and the main themes included:

• Concerns about shortcutting in the neighbourhood south of 29th Street. Some of these concerns were addressed with the installation of speed bumps on St Georges Avenue.
• Left turn restrictions onto St. Andrews Ave, Tempe Cres, Brand St and Somerset St may make accessing local residents and businesses challenging and place more traffic onto St. Georges.
• Support for the eastbound bus stop at St. Andrews remaining in its current location.
• Parking removal on the 300 and 400 blocks could be avoided. 

Advancing the design and construction of this second phase of work was postponed in 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19. As several years have past, the City will be launching a public engagement process in fall 2023 to reconnect with residents, review and confirm challenges and opportunities for this area and present an updated proposed design.