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  #21  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 7:52 AM
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Whalleyboy Whalleyboy is offline
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that bridge is nothing. I drive over it so often and never had any trouble and compared to some roads it so safe its funny. try driving the monashee then come back and tell me how hard that is to drive.

as long as you drive smart you're fine.

also just want to add it was such a pain being stuck in the traffic there. moved like 5 kilometers in an hour
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  #22  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 8:06 AM
cabotp cabotp is offline
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Originally Posted by Stingray2004 View Post
Operating Speed of Hwy 1 east of the PMB is ~120 km/hr and I've always driven at that operating speed unless conditions warrant otherwise. Preeminent North American traffic engineer Martin Parker of Wade-Trim Engineering has also recommended to MoT that the speed limit be bumped up to 110/km/hr along Hwy 1 east of the PMB.

In fact, BC MoT's monitoring station on Hwy 1 just east of Bradner Road in Abbotsford measures "Annual Average Daily Speed".

For the year 2009:

85th percentile: 126 km/hr - fast/left lane

85th percentile: 114 km/hr - slow/right lane

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/trafficdata/...01-01-2009.pdf

Anyone substantially deviating from those operating speeds is a hazard to traffic flow. Again, in my experience, the problem with the Vedder Canal Bridge are the narrow lanes in conjunction with the poor sight-lines.



http://www.news1130.com/news/local/a...fatal-accident

It does not matter what the operating speed is. What matters is that people are driving too fast in that area. Which does not allow them enough time to slow down if they need to.

If the average recorded speed in that area was 200km/h, does it mean it is safe to drive that speed. The average speed just means what people are driving at. It does not mean it is entirely safe to do so.

If there are poor sight lines according to you. Then drive slower so that you can react in time if need be.

I don't drive over that bridge every day. But I've driven over it quite a bit in the past and I've never once had a problem with it.
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  #23  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 3:42 PM
twoNeurons twoNeurons is offline
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Originally Posted by aberdeen5698 View Post
I often do that - it depends on the mood I'm in and what direction I'm coming from. I also use Nanaimo -> McGill or Rupert -> 1st.
Actually... Boundary / 1st is pretty good. Instead of getting on the Boundary ramp, go down the road a few hundred meters and turn left.

As for the Vedder bridge, if you look at that map you can see the old westbound alignment that used to go along N. Parallel road.

That would've been strange to live in the center of a highway.
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  #24  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 3:52 PM
DKaz DKaz is offline
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Originally Posted by twoNeurons View Post
Actually... Boundary / 1st is pretty good. Instead of getting on the Boundary ramp, go down the road a few hundred meters and turn left.

As for the Vedder bridge, if you look at that map you can see the old westbound alignment that used to go along N. Parallel road.

That would've been strange to live in the center of a highway.
It's even labeled as the TransCanada Hwy with the symbol.

To note, if you're incapable of going 120km/h on Hwy 1, don't go 120km/h. I can drive the highway at 120km/h for sure when I need to, but I typically go 105km/h to save on fuel, even on the Coquihalla Hwy if I'm in no rush.

Hey in Streetview, you can kinda make out the new guardrails for the last few times that trucks crashed through.
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  #25  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 5:15 PM
go_leafs_go02 go_leafs_go02 is offline
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Originally Posted by DKaz View Post
It's even labeled as the TransCanada Hwy with the symbol.

To note, if you're incapable of going 120km/h on Hwy 1, don't go 120km/h. I can drive the highway at 120km/h for sure when I need to, but I typically go 105km/h to save on fuel, even on the Coquihalla Hwy if I'm in no rush.

Hey in Streetview, you can kinda make out the new guardrails for the last few times that trucks crashed through.
Haha yeah - I wonder how long it takes to order those the way they are to have the installed.

They completed temporary repairs last night around 9 PM and opened the bridge to all traffic. However, there were just metal posts with guardrail installed in that segment. In front of that were narrow pylons.

On another note, just compare the diffferences in the bridges over the Sumas Canal/River about 2 km west of the Vedder Canal.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...,36.82,,0,3.44 - Westbound - new bridge only about 10-15 years old.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...,23.8,,0,14.43 - Eastbound - old/orginal bridge.

Note the lack of shoulders on one compared to the other, and even lane widths are different.
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  #26  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2010, 8:08 PM
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Stingray2004 Stingray2004 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02 View Post
On another note, just compare the diffferences in the bridges over the Sumas Canal/River about 2 km west of the Vedder Canal.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...,23.8,,0,14.43 - Eastbound - old/orginal bridge.

Note the lack of shoulders on one compared to the other, and even lane widths are different.
Funny you mention that. During the 1960's, all Hwy 1 overpass structures had reasonable shoulders and a standardized steel guard-rail from Cassiar in Vancouver eastward to the Chilliwack River just east of the Vedder interchange.

Same with Hwy 99 inclusive of the CNR overpass and the Serpentine and Nicomekl River overpasses.

For example, here is the Hwy 1 overpass of the Chilliwack River - note the 1960's steel guard-rail design and shoulder widths:



Source: www.bchwys.ca

For whatever reason, the only anachronisms along Hwy 1 are the Sumas and Vedder Canal Bridges with their narrower lanes, non-existent shoulder width and an historical earlier steel-grated guardrail. Sure would like to see the concrete date-stamp at the abutment of those two respective crossings:



Source: www.bchwys.ca
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  #27  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2010, 2:02 AM
cairnstone cairnstone is offline
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Originally Posted by aberdeen5698 View Post
The on-ramp from Boundary Road northbound to Highway 1 is the scariest piece of road for me in the Lower Mainland bar none. It has everything going wrong for it:

- there's no merge lane - joining traffic has to merge immediately with almost no chance to find a gap and match speeds

- the entire ramp from where it leaves Boundary to the freeway itself is uphill curves that limit your visibility, maximum speed, and acceleration

- because the on-ramp goes under the highway and the rises up to meet it, there's almost no opportunity to see the traffic that you need to merge with.

All of this results in a very small time window during which you have to be flooring the accelerator, looking back to check the freeway traffic at the same time you're looking forward to make sure someone hasn't stopped just out of sight around the curve on the on ramp.

Scary. As traffic has been steadily increasing over the years I've started avoiding this ramp and now use the one from 1st Avenue instead.
It is worse now as it has been shortened a little do to the upgrades. It should have been closed when they reduced the merge area like they did to gilmore ramp.
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  #28  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2010, 7:49 AM
cabotp cabotp is offline
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The good thing is the Boundary road onramp will be much better once the Gateway project is done.

Unless that part got changed as well and the longer on ramp is no longer being built.
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  #29  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2010, 10:30 PM
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Somewhat off-topic, but there are dangerous roads and then then are dangerous drivers... like this 19 yr. old guy doin' ~160 km/hr on the freeway, losin' control, and then smashing into the concrete piers of the freeway overpass with the car disintegrating (earlier today):

Video Link


The guy survived this mess but is in critical condition.
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  #30  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2010, 10:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Stingray2004 View Post
...like this 19 yr. old guy doin' ~160 km/hr on the freeway, losin' control, and then smashing into the concrete piers of the freeway overpass with the car disintegrating
Another driver raised on video games who thinks the laws of physics doesn't apply to him...
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  #31  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 8:43 AM
cabotp cabotp is offline
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Originally Posted by Stingray2004 View Post
Somewhat off-topic, but there are dangerous roads and then then are dangerous drivers... like this 19 yr. old guy doin' ~160 km/hr on the freeway, losin' control, and then smashing into the concrete piers of the freeway overpass with the car disintegrating (earlier today):

The guy survived this mess but is in critical condition.
Aww damn. Darwin didn't get him
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  #32  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 1:02 PM
DKaz DKaz is offline
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I think he crashed into the right side of the concrete piers while his engine is clearly to the left.
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  #33  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 7:14 PM
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I've never like the Knight St Bridge (or Knight St). Getting onto the bridge from eastbound Marine when you have to merge into two lanes of traffic which is also trying to merge into one lane. Then right after you have to get out of the Mitchell Island lane and merge into traffic bombing down Knight from Vancouver. Very bad design
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  #34  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 8:19 PM
cabotp cabotp is offline
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I've never like the Knight St Bridge (or Knight St). Getting onto the bridge from eastbound Marine when you have to merge into two lanes of traffic which is also trying to merge into one lane. Then right after you have to get out of the Mitchell Island lane and merge into traffic bombing down Knight from Vancouver. Very bad design
I prefer to think of it as an idiotic design. Cause only an idiot would ever design something like that.

It almost feels like the access to and from Marine Drive, was an after thought. As if someone said "Oh crap we need to allow people to access Marine Drive, but we don't have any room. We'll just slap a couple of curvy ramps and be done with it"
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  #35  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 8:37 PM
DKaz DKaz is offline
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I'll third Knight St. Bridge, for a bridge that was designed in a period where they should've known better about safe road design, they didn't know better. Shame on them.
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  #36  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 8:56 PM
Mininari Mininari is offline
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Originally Posted by cabotp View Post
Unless that part got changed as well and the longer on ramp is no longer being built.
Back to the program definition report... looking for the bit of language that reads oh something like...

"To better serve the Asia-Pacific Gateway, longer ramps have been identified as a key upgrade to the Boundary Road interchange and might be added within the 2031 time frame."
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  #37  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 9:01 PM
go_leafs_go02 go_leafs_go02 is offline
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Originally Posted by Mininari View Post
Back to the program definition report... looking for the bit of language that reads oh something like...

"To better serve the Asia-Pacific Gateway, longer ramps have been identified as a key upgrade to the Boundary Road interchange and might be added within the 2031 time frame."
20 years to extend ramps? and I love the word "MIGHT"
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  #38  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2010, 10:47 PM
Pinion Pinion is offline
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Where Willingdon meets Hwy 1 takes the cake for me. I believe it is statistically one of, if not the worst, for accidents.

Coming from North Van and trying to get to Canada Way to pull into the electrcian building parking at BCIT was a fine art. For BCIT students at that end of the campus, we had/have to go across three lanes and squeeze into a left turn-only lane, which was always backed up 100+ feet before the off ramp in the morning.

So you have:
-Massive amounts of traffic pouring off Hwy 1 impatiently wanting to get past you, frequently squeezing around you illegally on both sides if you slowed down at all
-Approximately 100 feet to make four lane changes on a very busy road, that is going downhill after the highway overpass (poor visibility and high traffic speed)
-A huge line up of cars that don't want to let you in, since letting you in may mean sitting there for another long light (usually 2-3 lights minimum wait).

You have to be super alert and ready to pounce at any small opening or else you just piss everyone off. People were actually pretty good at letting me in, but I found the trick was to be very assertive and stick my hand out the window to hand-signal as well as regular signalling. Then of course a thank you wave after I force my way in. Most people just futilly sat in the left most regular lane getting honked at and fingered for minutes until some kind soul took pity on them.

My dad used to work for Electronic Arts in the old building on the corner there and said he'd see at least one accident per day from his desk.
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  #39  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2010, 3:13 AM
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xd_1771 xd_1771 is offline
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Originally Posted by Pinion View Post
Where Willingdon meets Hwy 1 takes the cake for me. I believe it is statistically one of, if not the worst, for accidents.

Coming from North Van and trying to get to Canada Way to pull into the electrcian building parking at BCIT was a fine art. For BCIT students at that end of the campus, we had/have to go across three lanes and squeeze into a left turn-only lane, which was always backed up 100+ feet before the off ramp in the morning.

So you have:
-Massive amounts of traffic pouring off Hwy 1 impatiently wanting to get past you, frequently squeezing around you illegally on both sides if you slowed down at all
-Approximately 100 feet to make four lane changes on a very busy road, that is going downhill after the highway overpass (poor visibility and high traffic speed)
-A huge line up of cars that don't want to let you in, since letting you in may mean sitting there for another long light (usually 2-3 lights minimum wait).

You have to be super alert and ready to pounce at any small opening or else you just piss everyone off. People were actually pretty good at letting me in, but I found the trick was to be very assertive and stick my hand out the window to hand-signal as well as regular signalling. Then of course a thank you wave after I force my way in. Most people just futilly sat in the left most regular lane getting honked at and fingered for minutes until some kind soul took pity on them.

My dad used to work for Electronic Arts in the old building on the corner there and said he'd see at least one accident per day from his desk.
The new ramps should fix the problem (for you at least) because you now have to turn left onto Willingdon southbound (no lane changing into traffic) - and additionally there will be two left turn lanes at Canada Way according to some diagrams (if they decide to implement it). The light, of course, will be a problem... I can imagine tons of impatient people trying to get onto Willingdon South, backing up to the highway, running the lights as much as they possibly can-- oh my, the new ramps will be very fun to navigate
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  #40  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2010, 9:31 AM
cabotp cabotp is offline
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Originally Posted by Pinion View Post
You have to be super alert and ready to pounce at any small opening or else you just piss everyone off. People were actually pretty good at letting me in, but I found the trick was to be very assertive and stick my hand out the window to hand-signal as well as regular signalling. Then of course a thank you wave after I force my way in. Most people just futilly sat in the left most regular lane getting honked at and fingered for minutes until some kind soul took pity on them.
I found after years of driving, when I used to drive. That one has to get in the mindset that they can not be bothered about denting their vehicle.

At that point I started to become more assertive and would just slowly creep over to a lane. Usually someone would panic and slow down. I would then just move in. I did it every time I had to cross the Knight Street Bridge after just entering from Bridgeport. I wanted to get into the left lane and no one was going to stop me.
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