The Editor:
Re: Is your road bumpy? Coquitlam to pave 25 km of streets and lanes in 2022 (April 9, 2022)
Why would the City of Coquitlam and TransLink invest millions of dollars in making Gatensbury Street safer for active transportation only to make it more dangerous for all users by raising the speed limit?
When signs went up on Gatensbury Street and letters were mailed out by the City of Coquitlam to all local residents, we were excited to see the new plan for a safer street.
The addition of a multi-use pathway from the Port Moody border to Regan Avenue (Como Lake Park) is a needed continuation of the already constructed multi-use pathway in Port Moody.
Unfortunately, our excitement was short lived when included in the Coquitlam’s plan was the statement, “With the improvements, we will be also making speed regulatory changes,” raising the speed limit from 30 km/h to 50 km/h on the short 600 m stretch between Como Lake Avenue and Bartlett Avenue.
To some people this speed limit increase might not seem like a huge concern, but to all those who use this road daily, as well as those who will be drawn to the new active transportation facilities, this higher speed limit will pose a great danger.
Why?
The time a driver has to react is greatly reduced with increase of speed. The stopping distance for vehicles will more than double with this increased speed. (At 30 km/h – 10.8 m in the dry and 14.9 m in the wet, at 50 km/h – 24.0 m in the dry and 35.2 m in the wet, at 60 km/h – 32.4 metres in the dry and 48.5 m in the wet.)
The death percentage and severity of injuries increase at higher speeds for pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers. The chance of a pedestrian surviving a collision with a motor vehicle travelling at 50 km/h is less than 20 per cent; whereas, survival increases to 50 per cent at 40–45 km/h and 90 per cent at 30 km/h.
While this section of Gatensbury is straight, it has an hill that crests between Summit Drive and Willow Way, reducing sight lines to crosswalks and vehicles turning out of the numerous crossing streets and driveways.
What is gained by increasing the speed limit to 50 km/h?
Drivers would save 27 seconds in travel time. Travelling the 600 m at 30 km/h takes one minute and 12 seconds, and at 50 km/h, it takes 43 seconds.
In Canada, 50 cyclists and 266 pedestrians were killed in crashes with cars in 2020, the most recent numbers published by Transport Canada.
Gatensbury will still be 30 km/h from Foster Avenue to Como Lake Avenue and after Bartlett entering Port Moody, but for a mere 600 m, the speed will jump to 50 km/h.
This new higher speed limit will no doubt embolden drivers to drive at an even higher speed than what is posted and increase the average speed on the 30 km/h sections.
As stated in an article headline, “Coquitlam side of Gatensbury multi-use pathway is getting a $1.16M facelift. Is that enough?” (June 30, 2021).
In fact, the Tri-City News itself received lots of public letters long before the 2019 upgrades of how Gatensbury commuters need to slow down and for governments to make the route safer.
The new road design for Gatensbury is well thought out and will encourage drivers to slow down (by narrowing the road way and visually obscuring drivers view with plantings in boulevards) compared to the existing roadway (wide and open with no edges) which encourages speeding.
However, the wider turns in the new design will make drivers turning slow down while entering and exiting the roadway, but by increasing the speed limit, you will put these safe actions at risk because of approaching fast moving vehicles.
As well, drivers backing out of driveways will have less visibility with the new plantings in boulevards and increasing the speed will make this more dangerous as well.
The more proactive solution for the City of Coquitlam would be to lower Gatensbury to 30 km/h for the full distance (as well as all side streets that join with Gatensbury) from Austin to the Port Moody border.
With the addition of the King Albert Greenway crossings on Gatensbury and the gap of cycling infrastructure that will now exist between this Greenway and the MUP on Gatensbury, it will force cyclists onto the roadway.
According to HUB and re-enforced by studies, a 50 km/h speed limit is not a safe speed where cyclists have to share the roadway with vehicles.
Keeping a consistent speed on the entire stretch of Gatensbury creates a safe environment for all users especially for local residents, cyclists and pedestrians who will be travelling on or crossing these streets.
Why would a municipality choose to spend millions of dollars to redesign and rebuild a roadway for the safety of all users only to make it more dangerous for everyone by dangerously increasing the speed limit to save drivers 27 seconds but put others users in great danger?
Is this 27 seconds saving worth the potential loss of human life?
- Lori and Derrick Holdenried, Port Moody
