2021-04-01 Agenda

Starting in April 2021 HUB North Shore Committee regular meetings will change to using Zoom, still on the first Thursday of every month at 6:30pm - 8:30pm.

Everybody is welcome.

Online conference call at https://zoom.us/j/98976249728?pwd=NE9BM1RUTjlScUp0c0VIbWFlMG5LUT09, It's pretty similar to join.me, and I will start the meeting around 6:15 so people can get connected and try it out.

By phone: call 778-907-2071, Meeting ID: 989 7624 9728, Passcode: 166390

One tap mobile: +17789072071,,98976249728#,,,,*166390#

• Agenda additions
• Introductions

General

• Recruiting:
  • DNV Liaisons
  • Vice Chair
  • Wiki-Master

• Public Input/Consultations:
  • CNV - Mobility strategy - please take a couple minutes to look at the website and share you thoughts
  • CNV - St Andrews (Keith to E 13th)

Events - Fred/Tove

• Spring Bike2Work Week - May 31 to June 4 -
  • "Knowledge HUBs' instead of Celebration stations

City of North Vancouver - Erika/Nadia

Welcome Nadia!

• Thrilled to announce that Nadia Fourik has stepped up to co-liaison!
• Would anyone else like to lighten the load by joining us?

Esplanade Complete Street – Spring Engagement

• City is pushing back Esplanade consultation by a few weeks in order to incorporate more detail. Mo Bot will join the next HUB meeting on May 6th to provide a verbal update, present the design and gather input. In the meantime, update from Mo: "Esplanade is an important street that needs to serve many different people in many different ways. City of North Vancouver is advancing the preliminary detailed design of the Esplanade Complete Street corridor to ensure we are building a street that works better for everyone. Our proposed design rebalances the limited public space to achieve our design goals of:
  • increasing safety while providing dedicated and separated space for all modes and for people of all ages and abilities,
  • creating a more comfortable and vibrant street,
  • supporting a thriving commercial district including ensuring good curbside access for businesses, and
  • delivering ongoing improvements to the operation of the street for vehicles, buses, and trucks.

• Design options have been primarily considered through the lens of the Council-approved Safe Mobility Strategy to ensure outcomes create a safer street for everyone, regardless of how you choose to travel to the area. The Project Team is looking forward to providing an overview of the project design and to discuss the proposed changes with HUB members in May.”

Mobility Strategy

• Preliminary goals and strategies of the Mobility Strategy were presented to Council on March 8, and staff were given support to use this as the basis for community and stakeholder consultation.
• Visit the City’s Let’s Talk page to provide input and feedback. The deadline for feedback is Friday, April 30. https://letstalk.cnv.org/join-us-on-a-mobility-journey
• We will be meeting with City staff in April for high-level input

St Andrews Safety Improvements

• Making improvements along St Andrews from Keith Road to 13th Street.
• This section of St Andrews is a wide, local street that is well-used by pedestrians, a designated bike route and an important connection to the Green Necklace, Lions Gate Hospital and other amenities.
• Changes: sidewalk infill (on East side of the road) + traffic calming.
• Timeline: summer 2021.
• Provide input: https://letstalk.cnv.org/st-andrews-safety-improvements-project
• We plan to write an official letter to respond as well

Micromobility

• MOTI announced the approval of electric kick scooter pilot projects in six BC municipalities, including CNV, DNV and DWV.
• It is now up to local governments to pass bylaws to identify where these devices will be permitted in their municipality.
• Media release: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021TRAN0042-000523

Kings Mill Walk master plan

• Keep an eye on https://letstalk.cnv.org/kmw-park-master-plan for forthcoming engagement on proposed design options
• Construction on the east side of the development next to the park has started

1st Street

• Pooling areas fixed, paint is coming, no date provided yet. Work completed recently for the new letdown that was added on the south side of the mid-block crossing (near Rona).

Green Necklace on E 21st/Eastern Ave

• Due to work determining cedar tree root structure, part of the MUP will be broken up in the coming week

• ITC - Dana & Jonathan
  • ANY UPDATES?

District of North Vancouver - Fred/Don

• Liaisons met a couple times with Ingrid (DNV) and have another meeting scheduled Mar 27?
  • discussed HUB Priorities and 2021 plans
  • Upper LV Road (Phase I) from TC to Peters Road in 2021. Peters to Dempsey planned for 2022 but may be included in Phase I.
  • Upper LVR improvements contingent on obtaining third party infrastructure funding. Assuming funding is successful it means the "DNV will be spending 50% of the transportation budget on active transportation according to Mayor Little."
  • The DNV will be expediting improvements to the Mountain Hwy corridor to Lynn Valley town centre to address cycling impediments. Awaiting details.
  • Liaisons requested road paving schedule, not finalized yet, but Ingrid confirmed that a section of LVR east of Molly Nye and Mount Royal east of Delbrook will be repaved in 2021. Ingrid will share complete schedule when available.

Mtn. Hwy to Peters Road

• Currently in the design stage
• HUB Liaisons have been asked to provide input
• In general terms there will be a protected bike lane on both sides of Lynn Valley Rd as part of phase I. (Mountain Hwy to Peters Rd.)
• Design looks promising, HUB provided feedback on intersections and signage
• Will need to make sure that design meshes with plans for LV TC bike plans

Phibbs to Keith

• Brought up issues with Orwell (poor lane condition). Phibbs will be done before Orwell will be addressed. At this point all that could be done at Orwell at this time would be brush cleaning.
• Travel by bike or on foot from Keith Rd. bridge to east Seymour via Fern Street Bridge is no more as this bridge has been demolished. The contractor has been slow to open travel over the new overpass connecting with Mt. Seymour Parkway.

Capilano Rd/Highway Underpass MOTI project

• Discussed, focused on the need to make sure project connects with Hugo Ray bike route
• Don will forward email with HUB concerns

Other

• Need to ask about budget for missing Wayfinding signage
• DNV did not buy bike path sweeper in 2020 due to COVID-19, but not sure if it is in the 2021 budget request.
• Started discussion of adding protection to bike lanes on Mountain Highway south of the Hwy Overpass
• Draft designs for a MUP on east and west side of Mountain Hwy north of the overpass.

District of West Vancouver - Paul/Peter/Mike

• At a 22 February meeting with DWV Engineering and Transportation director, Jenn Moller, and Vanessa Garrett, we learned the following for 2021:
  • Conditional on budget approval, the contract for a Strategic Transportation Study will be awarded and, following internal and external stakeholder engagement, should be completed by the end of the year.
  • Improvement of the Welch St Bridge and its approaches will include some of our recommended detailed design improvements (including dropdown widening and lane-share markings.) but, given the heavy reliance on this
  • A possible ‘mobility recovery pilot’ will be considered (responding in part to our ‘slow street’ expansion proposals), in which the Dept would be receptive to our input and our offer to provide a HUB letter of support to the Mayor and Council should the Dept proceed to present a staff report to Council in the Spring.

• Other components of M2M discussed at our meeting and which may warrant further discussion in due course included the following:
  • Implementation of an eastbound protected bike lane along Marine Drive from the Lions Gate bridgehead to Capilano Road in collaboration with DNV may take place during the second half of the year, conditional on *Other components of M2M discussed at our meeting and which may warrant further discussion in due course included the following:
  • A bypass to the busy dog-walk access section of Spirit Trail to run from Welch St to 13th St, which would help divert commuters and sports cyclists away from the pedestrian users, but which would depend in part on Park Royal cooperation.
  • Completion of the separated bikeway through Ambleside Waterfront Park requiring closure of Argyle Ave to motor vehicles. We understand this matter may be considered as part of the Ambleside Town Centre Plan. deliberations.
  • In this regard, it was appreciated that staff can provide details of Ambleside parking availability prior to the Grosvenor development, so that we can inform Council on how many more public parking spaces are now available to compensate for the removal of parking places on Argyle Avenue.

• Lastly, given the extensive mobility-related agenda ahead, their suggestion for Dept staff to meet routinely with HUB on a quarterly basis was much appreciated and fully acceptable. 
• On 26 February, comments were submitted to the directors of planning and engineering on the Horseshoe Bay Local Area Plan
  • Expressed was our desire for separated bike lanes on Royal Avenue south of Bruce Street connecting to the existing separated bike lane northbound between Bruce and Bay Streets.
  • Also connecting to the existing northbound separated bike lane on Royal Avenue, we would like to see separated east-west bike lanes on Bay Street between Nelson Avenue and the BC ferry terminal building.

• On 2 March, a letter was sent to the Mayor and Council expressing our concerns about the lack funds being devoted to cycling infrastructure in the 2021 budget which will come up for discussion at Council on 8 March.
• Preliminary Bikeability Assessment Report for Park Royal - http://wiki.bikehub.ca/northshore/images/8/85/2021-03-03_Preliminary_Bikeability_Assessment_Report_for_Park_Royal.pdf

MOTI - Don/Jonathan

• Lower Lynn Interchanges - Monthly meeting
  • Mountain Hwy Interchange
    • 4m MUP along the north side westbound Mtn Hwy offramp will have 10 "refuges", so the hill will be a series of 10m 15% pitches with 2m flats (refuge). Should open in June/July.
    • The maze-gate on MUP between the bridges will be removed in next few weeks
  • Mt Seymour parkway/Keith Interchange
    • bike detour in place until June (to demolish old bridge and complete south side of new one)
    • New 4m wide MUP on side of Mt Seymour pkwy no open, new 3m one on south side will be completed by early June
  • Main-dollarton interchange
    • onramp to IWMB west sidewalk closed until July (detour via east sidewalk)
    • new 4m MUP on south side of main-dollarton will open in May/June
    • new 4m MUP on north side of main-dollarton should open in June
  • Phibbs exchange upgrade
    • Construction should should start in late summer

• BC Economic Recovery funding - Completed
  • started in Nov, must be spend by March!
  • HUB provided feedback to design team (Parsons) on near final design of Lynn Valley Rd underpass and Capilano Rd interchange
  • 3 North Shore Projects:
    • Lynn Valley Rd Underpass - Design only (ready to put out to tender) - reviewed 2nd draft
      • have widened bikeway to 2.5m next to 2m pedestrian path, right though underpass
      • cross-ride + crosswalk added to intersection N of overpass
      • on-ramp slip-lane is removed and off-ramp corner sharpened to improve visibility and reduce speeds
    • Capilano Road interchange - Design only (ready to put out to tender) - reviewed 2nd draft
      • They have widened the bikelanes on Capilano Road to 2.5m to allow passing (for much of the distance)
      • Asked for larger waiting spaces at intersection crossings & islands (NB)
      • Will have a separate meeting to discuss repairing & improving connection from North Intersection to North sidewalk and thus Hugo Ray in West van
    • Lion Gate Bridge improvements
      • barriers on both sides of the North end of the bridge have been extended a couple weeks ago.
      • some improved wayfinding signage should be installed on the causeway.

• Lane Control upgrades on Lions Gate Bridge & Causeway
  • Initial meeting on 6-April -> work & closures in the summer

• Hwy 1 North Shore Corridor Study: Lynn Valley to Horseshoe Bay
  • Still waiting for draft report

Communications & Outreach - Heather/Antje/Giacomo/Paul

Planning

• We are working on coordinating our approach to communications using existing groups.io, Facebook and Twitter
• Established working tools, What's App and Google Drive to coordinate communications
• Have identified a volunteer photog/video who will help capture images of the North Shore
• Looking for people to be models in photoshoots (any volunteers?)
• Identified top two target groups: Active Seniors and Parents of Young Children - working out how to access these audiences
• Learning about Instagram and how we might use it to target younger people

Comms Topics Feb/ early March

• 2020 Year in Review Summary
• Letter to the Editor, 1st and 2nd Street bikeway
• Fern Street Detour Route
• Promote HUB Cargo Bike seminar
• Promote CNV HUB award
• New crossing over Mosquito Creek at Evergreen
• Bafflegate at Keith Road
• Esplanade complete streets

Developers - Fred/Paul & Peter

• Currently active:
  • West Van
    • Marine Drive
  • CNV
    • Habourside
  • DNV
    • Maplewood