Two-way vehicle traffic is returning to the McInnes overpass this week.
In April 2020, the city closed the northbound lane of the overpass to vehicle traffic to provide additional space for physical distancing. Starting Friday, Sept. 10, it will be returned to motor vehicle traffic, including the 103 transit route.
“It was put in as a temporary measure as a COVID response. We did get some suggestions that it remain permanent but it has always been the long-term plan to widen the sidewalk,” said Mike Anderson, the city’s transportation manager. “It was more a question of how long the measure would be in place, whether we could keep it there until we widened the sidewalk or if we would need to remove it.”
Anderson said the city’s sustainable transportation task force discussed the matter in July and agreed the overpass should reopen to two-way traffic because of other road closures anticipated as part of Bosa Development’s Pier West project at 660 Quayside Dr. He said the task force agreed to leave the current lane closure in place until after Labour Day.
“There will be at least one longer closure while they reconfigure the road network in that area. Quayside Drive does get realigned through the new development, so there will be a longer term closure as that change takes place,” Anderson said of the Bosa site. “We do know that there will likely be construction-related closures while they do large-scale concrete pours and things like that.”
Anderson said the city has received requests from residents to reopen the McInnes overpass to two-way vehicle traffic because of construction taking place at Quayside Drive and Begbie Street and the lifting of some health restrictions.
“We are expecting more closures of Quayside and the Begbie Street rail crossing in the coming years as the Bosa project continues construction. It’s best practice to always have at least two road connections out of a neighbourhood, especially where you are dealing with overpasses of a rail corridor,” he said. “So, with future road closures on Quayside Drive, we felt it was best to reopen McInnes overpass to two-way motor vehicle traffic.”
Anderson said the city has had a “mixed response” since one lane of the overpass was closed to vehicular traffic last year.
“Some quite like the change that was made in response to the pandemic and others had asked us to remove it,” he told the Record. “We recognize that some people support it and some people would like to see it removed. Unfortunately, we have to go one way or another and, in this case, the safety needs of the neighbourhood are the priority at this point.”
Response to the city’s decision has been mixed on social media, with some saying it’s long overdue because it’s created delays and safety issues for motorists who have a limited number of ways to get in and out of the Quayside neighbourhood. Others would like to see the needs of pedestrians and cyclists prioritized and space provided for pedestrians to physically distance from others during the pandemic.
“We recognize that not everyone is supportive of this change but we are doing it in recognizing the safety needs of the neighbourhood,” Anderson said. “Certainly in the long-term, it’s definitely our goal to widen the sidewalk for pedestrians.”
Future plans
As part of its bold steps for climate action, Anderson said the city is looking at widening the sidewalk on the east side of the overpass. He said some funds for that project are included in the city’s capital plan.
“We were looking at accelerating it but again, to reconstruct the sidewalk on the overpass may require closures on the overpass. If we have closures on Begbie and Quayside already, we’d have to figure out the timing and how that would work, again to ensure that we have those two road accesses into the neighbourhood,” Anderson said. “It is in the plan to widen the sidewalk in the longer term; it’s just we need to determine the timing of that to minimize the disruption to the neighbourhood and maintain the emergency routes.”
According to the City of New Westminster, some of the Safe Space to Move adaptations that were put in place last year are being returned to their pre-pandemic state as provincial health orders ease. These include allowing cyclists to once again ride on the esplanade.
“We ask that people cycling and using other wheeled devices keep their speeds very low and be mindful of walkers, rollers, and pets,” said a notice on the city’s website. “People who want to cycle more quickly are encouraged to ride on Quayside Drive. Temporary measures will be installed along Quayside Drive to encourage motorists to drive at or below the 30 kilometres per hour speed limit.”
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
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