Many people believe that the day after Labour Day has the worst traffic– owing to people heading back to their offices and the students rushing to their first day of school. Perhaps that’s why Mayor Robertson issued warnings about the potential traffic jam that could form over Burrard Bridge today.
But traffic has reportedly gone over smoothly. The Vancouver Courier reports that there was a only a minimal lag time in crossing the bridge.
Two Kitsilano residents were interviewed over their morning commute on the Burrard bridge. John Lazar, an attorney whose commute from his Kitsilano home to his office near Georgia and Burrard takes about 20 minutes on his bike. On his return trip, which begins at 5:30 p.m., his 20-minute commute on a bike is the same as it is in his car.
“From a biker’s point of view, [the bridge] is way safer than it was before,” he said, pausing on a traffic island at Pacific and Burrard to speak to the Courier. “As a driver, I’ve found it slower coming home but that could be fixed with a [traffic] light as cars are getting onto the bridge from Pacific.”
Another Kits resident, Sheila Martineau, agrees that the bridge is safer from her pedestrian viewpoint, given the new sidewalk on the west side of the bridge. Martineau walks from her Kitsilano home to her marketing job in Gastown, which takes about 45 minutes. Martineau notes that the number of cyclists heading south has actually decreased.
“I saw maybe four or five on my walk over here,” said Martineau, standing on a sidewalk near Pacific and Burrard. “I’m not sure why that is. As this time of the morning, there’s usually a steady stream of cyclists.”
Both Lazar and Martineau report that it is doubtful they will still bike or walk across the bridge once it starts to rain heavily.
But, as Rob wrote in a previous post on this issue, city council has yet to formally discuss the bike trial statistics in October. It will be interesting to see to what extent bridge use and traffic time will shift along with autumnal rain.
Last modified: September 9, 2009
