TransLink and West Vancouver have worked together to plan ways to improve the traffic flow along the Dundarave/Ambleside section of Marine Drive in West Vancouver.
- The plan involves adding more left-turn bays at key intersections, and prioritizing the right curbside lane for buses, people who are parking and cars turning right.
- Today, cars and buses are often stuck behind and weaving around people turning left, parking on the right and buses trying to merge back into traffic.
Transit priority measures will benefit everyone who uses this section of Marine Drive, regardless of whether they are driving a car or using transit.
- There will be a net reduction in travel times for both cars and transit.
- All 10 bus routes on this corridor will have improved reliability and reduced travel time; (e.g. Customers on the 250 bus will save 5 mins on their trip to downtown).
TransLink has been working closely with District of West Vancouver, and wants to ensure residents and businesses feel heard
- TransLink will continue listening to the community; this is a plan that will deliver many benefits and TransLink wants to make sure they get it right.
Background
A new B-Line bus route will operate between Dundarave in West Vancouver to Phibbs Exchange in North Vancouver along the Marine Drive / Main corridor starting in late 2019. The route will connect residents, workers and students to Park Royal, Lonsdale Quay, and connections from Phibbs Exchange to and from Vancouver and Burnaby. A B-Line route offers higher capacity buses, makes fewer stops and takes advantage of bus priority measures to move people faster.
- The Main-Marine B-Line will run every 8 minutes at peak times
- One B-Line bus can carry the equivalent of 110 single-occupancy cars
Making the Marine-Main B-Line fast and reliable is critical to its success.
- TransLink and District of West Vancouver have partnered on a street-improvement project on Marine Drive to improve traffic flow for all, and ensure buses don’t get stuck in traffic
- This includes reserving the outer lane for people parking, making right turns and for transit
- It also includes creating left-turn bays at key intersections, preventing traffic from backing up as people wait to turn
- All of this will be accomplished without significant loss to parking, which we know is a concern for local businesses: approximately 15 parking spots will be removed over the 20-block stretch.
- Maintaining the neighborhood character of Ambleside and Dundarave is critical; none of the alterations will remove the planted medians. And the pedestrian environment will be improved
There's a significant transit need in West Vancouver and on the North Shore.
- 59,000 transit passengers on this corridor each day, 21,000 in West Vancouver daily.
- 10 different bus routes use Marine Drive in West Vancouver.
- All 21,000 bus customers will benefit from traffic improvement changes.
- More than 4,000 transit passengers per day board buses in Dundarave & Ambleside (excluding Park Royal). That’s equal to those using Coquitlam Central SkyTrain station.
- All bus routes will benefit from these improvements.
- Save 7.5 minutes to Lions Gate Hospital from Dundarave via the 255 (one way)
- Save 5 minutes to downtown from Dundarave via the 250 (one way)
The street design will make it easier to drive on Marine Drive.
- Today, there are two lanes in each direction. But the left turn is often blocked by left-turning vehicles, and the right lane by cars parking and buses stopped at bus bulges.
- The result is that drivers must weave between blockages, slowing traffic and bad for safety.
- A single through lane will unobstructed by turning/stopping/parking vehicles, as there will be left turn bays, and parking cars and stopping buses will use the outside lane.
- These changes will result in a net reduction in travel time for all users, including cars.
There’s a crisis of congestion on the North Shore and B-Line has been identified as a solution.
- Congestion has reached a critical level and is going to increase.
- All levels of government have worked on this problem as part of Integrated North Shore Planning Project (INSTPP).
- B-Line was identified as among the few options that could make a positive impact.
Support for the B-Line project and street/traffic changes is strong, as demonstrated through consultation.
- The B-Line has been identified in many plans that included public consultation, including the 10-Year Vision and the North Shore Area Transit Plan (2010-12).
- We consulted North Shore residents for two months earlier this year (on the B-Line and street-change options).
- 79% support street and traffic changes to make the B-Line faster
Municipal Outreach
- The B-Line team presented to West Vancouver mayor and council to share information and receive feedback on the B-Line project and proposed service changes.
- First presentation to council was on March 12, 2018, prior to the consultation period. These presentations centered on providing as much information as possible to communities about the proposal.
- The second round of presentations was post-consultation period on June 11, 2018. We shared our findings with councils and any amendments based on the survey results and feedback received during engagement.
