What’s worse, a bad hangover or getting stuck in traffic at the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and Highway 99?
The quick and unvarnished answer is there’s not much difference between the two.
Over the years, a fix for that notorious patch of pavement has been the subject of several studies and reports.
So far, there have been relatively few significant upgrades, but changes are on the horizon.
Based on , between 2016 and 2020 a total of 256 collisions occurred at that junction.
Those mishaps resulted in 108 casualties and 148 property damage reports.
In 2016, the District of 麻豆社国产partnered with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to study the intersection.
The resulting report made several significant recommendations, including heightened RCMP speed and U-turn enforcement and the construction of a southbound right-turn accelerator lane.
As stated in a recent MOTI bulletin, that specific lane upgrade has now been put out for tenders and will include road widening and other modifications.
In the meantime, council is awaiting the results of the Downtown Entrance Study, which will gauge ongoing and future traffic volumes at that location.
A second vehicle crossing, with a bridge over the Mamquam Blind Channel, is also on the drawing board. The new structure is identified in the District’s 2031 Multi-Modal Transportation Plan. It will connect Laurelwood Road in the new SEAandSKY community with Pemberton Avenue in Downtown 麻豆社国产and take pressure off the Cleveland Avenue/Highway 99 intersection.
The bridge is included in the Development Cost Charges Bylaw, a levy on all new developments to pay for infrastructure enhancements.
According to the District, the route has been contemplated since 2006 and there is both provincial and regional support for the creation of a second access to downtown.
Upgrades to Pemberton Avenue and Loggers Lane are also planned to ensure pedestrian and cyclist safety and improve traffic flow.
A memo issued by the District this past November states that even if the Laurelwood Road to Pemberton Avenue connector is designated as a truck route, the lion’s share of traffic will be personal vehicles.
District planners claim the 2017 Downtown Truck Route Study supports that assertion.
But not everybody is reading from the same hymn book. One critic who commented about the project on the DOS website, said the traffic volume findings in the study are outdated, given how fast this community is changing. Another skeptic called the bridge “a Band-Aid solution” that would just transfer “the traffic woes” of the ill-starred Cleveland Avenue/Highway 99 commercially zoned intersection to a residential area. Other doubters claim the surge in traffic, particularly trucks, will threaten the health and safety of the residents in the neighbourhood.
In response to those concerns, District spokesperson Rachel Boguski reiterated that according to the planning report, most of the traffic using the new link will be personal vehicles. As well, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure “has made it clear to the District that their desire is to have the bridge constructed as soon as possible,” she wrote.
Based on the ongoing Downtown Entrance Study, the project’s estimated shovels in the ground window is sometime between 2025 and 2030. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Avenue/Highway 99 intersection continues to be a location most drivers are happy to see in their rear-view mirrors.
Political columnist Helmut Manzl writes about muni hall for The 麻豆社国产 twice per month.
