September 12, 1995
BLENHEIM STREET TRAFFIC ISSUES
You are invited to a special neighbourhood meeting with City Council:
September 26, 1995
7:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Carnarvon Community School Auditorium
3400 Balaclava Street
The intent of this meeting is to listen to the concerns and suggestions
of the neighbourhood about proposed traffic calming measures on Blenheim
Street. After hearing from everyone, Council will decide at a later date
whether to proceed with, cancel or modify the calming measures that have
been proposed.
A more detailed package of information is available from the Office of
the City Clerk at City Hall.
If you want to get this package, or if you want to speak at the meeting,
please call Marnie Cross in the Office of the City Clerk at 873-7269 to
register. You can also register to speak at the meeting from 7 - 7:30
p.m. at the door. For more detailed information on Blenheim traffic
calming measures, please call Paul Pinsker at 873-7917.
Background Information
There has been a dramatic increase in vehicle traffic on Blenheim Street
over the past 10 years, and especially over the past three years.
According to some residents, this is making the neighbourhood a less
desirable and less safe place to live. To control traffic in the area,
the City has done the following:
1991 traffic lights installed at King Edward Avenue
1992 traffic lights installed at 10th Avenue
October 8, 1992 City Council approved the Kitsilano Traffic,
Cycling, and Parking Plan.
The Plan included changing the function of two sections of Blenheim
Street: 4th Avenue to Broadway - from collector to local street; and
Broadway to 16th Avenue - from minor arterial to collector.
1993 - traffic lights installed at 16th Avenue
May, 1994 City staff began meeting with local residents to
explore measures to decrease traffic flow.
April, 1995 City surveyed residents within 1 1/2 blocks of
Blenheim (810 questionnaires distributed to area residents, 175
questionnaires mailed to non-resident owners).
April 11, 1995 Open House held at Carnarvon School to discuss
options.
June 20, 1995 Traffic Commission approved various traffic calming
measures (see Figures 1 and 2 for maps of proposed measures),
including:
1. a circle, curb bulge, and right-turn island north of Broadway,
to maintain Blenheim as a local street
2. new curbs to narrow Blenheim south of Broadway
3. stop signs on Trutch and Waterloo between 10th and 16th
4. traffic circles at 12th and 14th, and turn restrictions at
other locations
5. follow-up study of all measures in six months (especially
traffic circles) to determine whether they should be modified
or made permanent.
Present Situation
The traffic calming measures approved by the Traffic Commission on June
20 were intended to make all streets in the area safer. Since that time,
however, many neighbourhood residents have written to object to the
proposals, and to the process that developed them.
It appears that many people in the community were not reached in this
process. For that reason, Council decided to stop the work and take a
second look at the issue. As noted above, a Special Meeting of Council
is being held on September 26 to hear neighbourhood concerns. Letters of
invitation to the meeting were sent out August 11, 1995 to all those who
wrote to the Mayor objecting to the proposal.
As well, this notice was prepared and 4,000 copies were circulated via
Canada Post Admail to residents within approximately three blocks of the
Blenheim section that is under review. Newspaper ads will also run in
local newspapers advising of the Special Council Meeting.
At this time, Council has the following options to deal with the traffic
situation on Blenheim:
Option A Proceed with all traffic measures, as approved by Traffic
Commission
all measures, including circles at 12th and 14th, would
proceed
six-month review of all measures, especially circles at
12th and 14th.
Option B Implement traffic measures south of Broadway, without
circles
all measures north of Broadway proceed
curbs, turn restrictions, and stop signs south of
Broadway would proceed
six-month review of all measures
Option C Leave all streets as they are
cancel all curbing changes, circles, and stop signs
There may be other options worth considering and we look forward to
hearing your ideas at the meeting.
Yours truly,
Ian Adam, P.Eng.
Assistant City Engineer, Transportation