A North Shore resident is expressing his “strong dismay” at the speed humps the District of West Vancouver has installed at certain key intersections of the Spirit Trail such as on the intersection of Welch Street and Capilano Road.
“It is unclear to me what problem you are actually trying to solve by installing these new barriers. This used to be a very pleasant segment of the Spirit Trail to use as a cyclist, runner or pedestrian. If the “problem” is fast-moving cyclists coming into conflict with pedestrians, more signage or small rumble strips could be used at these key intersections instead,” the resident wrote to the district.
The resident said he had used the pathway extensively over the past few years and had not observed any such conflict. “I am staggered to think that your staff thought that such measures were necessary.”
The citizen said it was worth reminding that drivers were legally obligated to yield to other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists at a stop sign and must wait their turn.
“By installing these massive new speed humps you are actually telling cyclists and other trail users that they must yield to vehicles and that cars have priority over all other forms of mobility. This is completely contrary to the entire reason for designing and building infrastructure such as the Spirit Trail that is intended to help respond to the climate emergency that your local government has declared,” the resident said.
“These massive barriers not only detract from that objective by making the Sprit Trail less user friendly, it imposes new and unnecessary risks to users. Why are you choosing to make getting around sustainably less enjoyable and more difficult?”
The resident asked the district to rethink the decision and remove the speed humps. “From my perspective these have been installed with no public consultation with actual frequent users such as myself. They are far bigger than any I have encountered anywhere else in the entire Vancouver region. They are a hazard to all trail users especially at night or in poor visibility,” he said.
The resident said he had consciously started using a bike in response to the climate change crisis, but decisions to install such speed humps would only discourage such people.
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