Gateway Discussion: Fraser Perimeter Roads/Pitt River/Mary Hill

[Dave2]

I drove up there at 5:45 PM, and there was no congestion northbound at all north of Brentwood Mall, there rarely is... A S/B bus lane might make sense in the morning, but there is just no reason at all for the N/B lane

[Dave2]

PS, I don't really buy he 'buses block the right lane' rationalization, there are only 2 routes, the 123 and the 130, and they're not so frequent as to cause issues. Right now the 130i s operating every 10 minutes, and the 123 even less. Even in the PM rush, it seems the 130 only runs 6-8 minutes, hardly enough to worry about. Even left turns aren't a problem, as people (well, myself and others agreed) pointed out, you learn to look ahead to see where the gaps are, and turn onto Napier, Charles, or what-have-you as required. If you're smart, you rarely have to sit in the left lane waiting for a gap, the lights at Brentlawn and Halifax break the traffic up into nice neat platoons.

Anyway, enough of this for now, just hit the close box Dave.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by Dave2

And this, coming from a city which is screaming bloody murder about adding a pair of lanes and upgrading our 1960s era freeway.

Yet by blocking all the streets off and installing a divider, they're turning Willingdon into a virtual freeway.

Ironic, isn't it?

I wonder what Corrigan's rant on Willingdon's proposed upgrade will be?

[cornholio]

Its a great idea to add bus lanes in my opinion and improve it. Willingdon is going to be a absolute nightmare in a decade if the status quo is maintained because along its entire stretch from Hastings to Metrotown Burnaby is experiencing some massive growth, and the growth is only accelerating. Left turn bays are important, without them you clog two lanes of traffic because once you get someone turning you halve the capacity of the entire stretch of road until they turn, this happens often and will only get progressively worse in the coming years around there. With left turn bays you use up the space of one lane to increase the capacity of the road by two lanes(the only way you can say that the current left lanes are adding to capacity is when no one along the entire stretch is turning left, the problem is that its no obvious because the road is not at full capacity...yet). Not to mention the safety issue. Regarding the bus lanes i see this again as thinking forward, which is to usually rare. The entire stretch of willingdon is going to see huge increase in transit and in my opinion its going to become the busiest bus corridor after Broadway, infact if they would be able to improve the bus service along that corridor and if/when BCIT gets a Upass service then I could easily see the transit ridership double along Willingdon(add to that the massive growth, residential, institutional and employment and the transit ridership will further increase). Just my opinion though. Also I will agree that the stretch from Moscrop to Metrotown should be a priority and this stretch could probably wait for a few more years as long as the space and plans are kept, though like this they at least have less of a effect on people. Refusing to admit the future and current importance of the Willingdon corridor and turning a blind eye to the looming problems is just NIMBYesm. Just my two cents.

[Bert]

Originally Posted by Dave2

there are no left turns at all, the entire median from Brentlawn to Parker is solid,

But there was a left turn lane added at Parker... at least I thought I saw that.

Basically it's going to be a 6 lane divided expressway. (despite the '4 lane arterial' description in the mailout to homeowners). What's the point of 6 laning that stretch if it's still going to be 4 lane north of Parker?

Again, I thought it was 6 lanes all the way to Hastings, but one section of Willingdon is the 2008 Phase I, and the other will be 2009 Phase II (not sure which was which). I should have taken pictures of the poster board.

most of the verbal comments were negative, and once people starting hearing that others felt the same way.... the engineers thought they were ready with answers, "it will only take 1:08 minutes to drive to the church, but had no idea what blocking off access to almost every street in Brentwood Park would do to the traffic counts on the stree that remained open.

Yeah, I also heard mostly negative comments on a variety of aspects. I myself put down "Neutral" on the comment card toward the 2 lane addition since at least they're bus lanes. If there was a "Somewhat Opposed" option, I'd have chosen that though. I think density could be moderately increased along the couple blocks surrounding Willingdon, and bus lanes might at least be a step toward making that happen, but it really shouldn't happen asynchronously.

PS, I don't really buy he 'buses block the right lane' rationalization

I'm not saying it's a good reason to do it, just that it would increase capacity of the road substantially. When there's backup at Parker, much of it is due to people trying to turn left, and the buses which stop just after Parker occupy the right lane, so both lanes get at least partially blocked sometimes, and a whole light can cycle with only a few cars getting across Parker.

Honestly, this project seems way overbuilt. All that's needed now, if anything, are left turn lanes at Parker and the separated urban trail. All that this project will do - by building it now rather than when Willingdon actually becomes congested - is act as a magnet for non-local-traffic to the area (by reducing travel times/making the drive easier). If Burnaby wants to do this project, they should upzone the adjacent land to shape growth in coordination.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

Kevin is my MLA, and I wouldn't dream of voting for anyone else.

GO FALCON GO!

[Dave2]

Yes, when I said "Parker to Brentlawn", I meant ever street in between.

Napier, William, Charles, Kitchener, and Midlawn will be blocked off by the median, with signalized ped crossings, as were several streets north of Parker.

I think we're basically in agreement Bert, looking back, there is nothing wrong with their plans, the 6 laning, the "urban trail", the left turn bay at Parker , it's all fine... except for the damn median. <i>That's</i> what people were pissed off about.

PS, yes, there's no HOV lane planned north of Parker, it will remain 4 lanes, even with that wide swath of land to the east of Willingdon there is (apparently) not enough room to build both HOV lanes *and* the urban trail, so urban trail it is.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie...00471&t=h&z=18

[jlousa]

The BC government will create a new crown corporation to design and build the twinned Port Mann bridge. There are quite a few articles about it in todays papers, someone can post the details.

[twoNeurons]

Here's a great flyover image:
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=Aur...8103&encType=1

[twoNeurons]

And more fun... an image from Google (if it works)

[clooless]

Originally Posted by tintinium

Here's a great flyover image:
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=Aur...8103&encType=1

?????????????????

[Mininari]

The lack of news pertaining to the SFPR or PMH1 projects is starting to get a bit frustrating. I guess we're waiting for the environmental certification...

I really want to see a rendering of the proposed Cape-Horn Interchange.

The PDF drawing suggests an overwhelming change... but I guess its sorely needed to improve merging, and a direct connection from Hwy 1 East to the Mary Hill Bypass is a must.

[mr.x]

Crane damages pylon on Pitt River Bridge

Updated: Mon Apr. 14 2008 14:01:15

ctvbc.ca

Workers building the Pitt River Bridge are assessing the damage after a crane operator sliced through a cable holding up a support pylon Monday morning.

One of the pylons on the bridge is leaning slightly, though officials say there's no danger to workers or the public, said Tamara Little, a spokeswoman with B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation.

"It's not in any danger of falling," Little told CTV News. "It's an unfortunate accident, but no one was hurt."

The Pitt River Bridge is being built over the Pitt River as part of B.C.'s Gateway Project -- a massive infrastructure project meant to end gridlock and make trucking efficient.

Right now, contractor Peter Kiewitt has built part of each of the six supports for the bridge deck. The supports are built by pouring concrete into stacked rebar cages.

At about 6:30 a.m., the crane operator severed a cable that supported one of the rebar cages, meaning that the concrete is setting improperly and the tower is leaning, said Little.

"It snapped and the mould is flopping around," she said.

Kiewitt will remove the exposed rebar and is doing engineering assessments to see if the damage to the top of the pylon is affecting the pylon beneath it, she said.

Work on the bridge should be able to continue today, she said.

WorkSafeBC -- the new name for B.C.'s Worker's Compensation Board -- was called and is also speaking to workers on the job site, said Little.

Little said the crane operator was certified.

[David]

Speaking of the Pitt River Bridge, the main pylons on the east side look to be done. Doesn't look as tall as I thought it was going to be.

[mr.x]

[SpongeG]

the HOV lane signs are up on willingdon north of hwy #1 but they are covered in garbage bags

but some are ripped and it says van pools 6+

i hope they plan to improve that intersectiopn where the new costco is - its a nightmare under light traffic - with the costco shoppers its gonna be awful

[officedweller]

Here's what looks like the same or similar rebar cage after the support cable (visible in the above pic) was severed by the crane.


A crane operator accidentally severed a support cable on a rebar tower on the Pitt River Bridge between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Monday morning (April 14).

Leaning Tower of Rebar

The Times
Published: Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A crane operator accidentally severed a support cable on a rebar tower on the Pitt River Bridge between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Monday morning (April 14).

"It started to kind of lean over," said Susan Williams, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, of the rebar tower. "No one has been hurt. There's really no threat."

Williams said crews expected to have the severed cable repaired by the end of the same day.

She said public safety was never jeopardized due to the incident. However, morning traffic snarled as thousands of commuters slowed to see the massive leaning tower of rebar.

© Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times 2008

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by clooless

?????????????????

Sorry... you have to hit bird's eye to see the flyover view. Here's a link that should work:

[jhausner]

Originally Posted by Mininari

The lack of news pertaining to the SFPR or PMH1 projects is starting to get a bit frustrating. I guess we're waiting for the environmental certification...

I really want to see a rendering of the proposed Cape-Horn Interchange.

The PDF drawing suggests an overwhelming change... but I guess its sorely needed to improve merging, and a direct connection from Hwy 1 East to the Mary Hill Bypass is a must.

From reports I've seen, the SFPR is pretty much decided and designed. Yes it's just waiting for the environmental portion to be completed and there is already some preloading starting in addition to the end work in conjunction with the Golden Ear's bridge.

I've seen the PDFs for the entire SFPR through Delta and Surrey and it looks good so far in my opinion. I know some people are against it, but much like the East-West connector and Alex Fraser bridge, in about 10 years people will be wondering how we functioned without it.

Now hopefully they move forward with plans for expanding the highway 99 capacity through the tunnel and highway 99 in general. Several of the interchanges need a complete redo and 1 laning south/north during rush hour is just a nightmare given the population increase in South Surrey not to mention Hw99/91 being major links to the US.

[officedweller]

There's some talk of a short portion of the SFPR being shifted westwards away from Burns Bog onto some adjacent farmland to addresss Environment Canada's concerns regarding impact on the bog. Opponents are up in arms over the potential impact to farmland.