Quote:
Originally Posted by SpongeG
we have a few roads here with traffic lights with only a block in between - its gets pretty annoying, the traffic often backs up into the intersection making it even worse when the light changes
as to IKEA - it doesn't have understore parking? just surrounded by surface parking?
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A few??? 8
Geez, I have to say, thanks for chiming in here. I don't think people here in Winnipeg realize how lucky they are to not have a traffic light at EVERY intersection along major routes like there is in places in the GVRD. The funny thing is how the worst ones are always in the suburbs.
Coquitlam:
Johnson/Mariner - Pinetree / Lougheed - Westwood / Lougheed - Shaughnessy / Lougheed, anon... you're guaranteed to get stuck at more than one of those. I can't believe how many lights there are now along Lougheed in Poco. I couldn't get over how long it was taking me to get around town, even during the middle of the day when I was there for Christmas. King George Boulevard (formerly King George Highway) in Surrey is another terrific example.
The area in front of the Coquitlam IKEA isn't too much better. I was watching the Transportation forums and city of Coquitlam website for YEARS, waiting for the much-needed upgrades at Brunette and Lougheed. By the time they finally happened, my workplace had moved to Port Coquitlam. Fortunately I could use kingsway to bypass the first example I provided, but now it appears to be succumbing to be "lit up" just like the rest of 'em.
I guess the closest comparison here would be route 90 between Taylor and Academy. It can certainly be bad during rush hour, but its a 4-lane route thats outgrown its current design capacity (long ago). The addition of IKEA traffic won't help matters for the route on weekends.
As for the understore parking, no, I think part of the reason for that at the Coquitlam store is due to the constrained nature of the lot the IKEA was built on -- that store fills nearly the entire lot. The piece of land they're building the IKEA on here is quite large, and makes for a nice (yuck) sprawly massive parking lot, that always has redevelopment potential (e.g. adding big box stores in the middle of it, along with more drive thrus).
Oh, one more fun bit for Winnipeg to compare it... Seasons of Tuxedo / IKEA traffic "nightmare" : Meet, Queensborough Landing in New Westminster.
Lets build a big-box, power shopping centre right beside a busy bridge that terminates a chronically congested freeway in a local road network in a city that refuses any road upgrades (New Westminster).
What were they thinking???????
At least that development resulted in the developer chipping in for a diamond interchange on highway 91...