West End residents are thrilled they can finally cross Stewardson Way without risking life and limb.
The West End Residents’ Association is pleased that the long-awaited pedestrian overpass near Grimston Park is nearing completion. Before it opened on the weekend, some folks were already checking it out.
“Based on the use already, and the people talking to me about that, I think it is going to be really well used,” said Gavin McLeod, secretary-treasurer of the residents’ association. “The more people that know about it the more use it will get. I think the number of people jaywalking is a small percentage of the people who actually want to use it.”
The West End Residents’ Association has been appealing for construction of an overpass to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists needing to cross Stewardson Way near the Queensborough Bridge. The group has been concerned about the safety of the people who opt to jaywalk across the several lanes of traffic because of the lengthy distance they have to walk to get to a crosswalk.
“I talked to the people on site. They say they were shocked at how many people were jaywalking, including seniors. The cars are driving around them,” McLeod said. “It’s extremely risky because everybody speeds. There are curves there so there are blind spots. It’s like playing Frogger.”
(Frogger is a video game where players had to get frogs to their homes – while crossing a busy road and getting across a river.)
In a statement to the Record, B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena said the overpass is set to open to the public, but some minor works are continuing over the next few weeks to fully complete the project.
The West End Residents’ Association been seeking a safe crossing of Stewardson Way since the early 2000s.
In December 2018, the federal and provincial governments announced construction of a new multi-use Stewardson Way pedestrian/cyclist overpass would soon get underway. The new $5.1-million overpass is located east of the Queensborough Bridge, where there is no pedestrian crosswalk.
A group of West End residents recently met at the site and walked across the overpass.
“It was great. I was thinking of all this time and effort we put into this, and here it is,” McLeod said. “It’s really nice and wide. It’s not too steep. It’s protected. There are screens so people can’t throw things off it.”
While residents gathered at the site, a passing cyclist told them it would be well-used by employees at the Kruger plant.
McLeod said the overpass will be a “monumental” change for West End residents like himself who want to walk downtown, as this will be the most direct route to get there.
The overpass was built through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, with the federal government providing 50 per cent of eligible costs, the provincial government providing 33 per cent and TransLink contributing 17 per cent.
“Pedestrians and cyclists have been frustrated with the absence of a safe crossing on this stretch of Stewardson Way,” Trevena said when the project was announced last year. “This project puts the safety of people first by separating pedestrians and cyclists from a busy street.”
