Hastings may get dedicated bus lane

By David Carrigg-Staff writer

The city is considering creating a peak time bus-only lane along Hastings Street despite a consultant's report estimating it would lead to 25 more accidents on the corridor each year.

Assistant city engineer Ian Adam said the increased risk of accidents resulting from more cars on a smaller road surface is a concern, but the proposal still had merit because it would reduce the travel time for bus users by several minutes.

"Sometimes you have to make a difficult tradeoff and this is one of those situations," said Adam, adding the city would seek input from TransLink and consult with affected businesses and homes before going ahead with the move.

Designating a peak-time, bus-only lane for westbound buses on Hastings Street between Renfrew and Carrall in the morning and eastbound buses between Seymour and Renfrew in the afternoon is one of three options proposed to speed up bus travel on that road.

Other alternatives for Hastings Street include creating a High-Occupancy Vehicle lane or establishing a priority or "preemption" traffic signal system, where the lights would remain green when the bus approaches the intersection.

The options are outlined in a report by Hamilton and Associates, delivered to council last week, that looked at ways to improve bus flow downtown along Georgia, Burrard and Hastings streets and along Main and Fraser streets from Southeast Marine Drive to 1st Avenue.

"Given the growth in travel demand, TransLink and the city must find ways to make transit work better on transportation corridors that have limited rights of way, while providing for the transportation needs, safety, livability and access for all corridor users," says the report.

Adam said the city is already going ahead with some of the consultant's proposals, including lengthening the HOV lane on Georgia Street, building bus bulges on Main and Fraser streets and adding painted left-turn bays on Fraser Street at King Edward Avenue.

The city has already installed trial bus bulges on West 10th Avenue, Pender Street and Commercial Drive. The bulges mean a bus doesn't have to pull out of traffic to pick up a passenger, although any car caught behind the bus when it stops in the lane must wait or drive around the bus.

A traffic signal preemption system is currently being tested on Georgia Street for TransLink's 98 B-Line.

Other options, including installing bus queue jumper lanes-short stretches of bus-only lane-on Main Street near Terminal Avenue and creating bus/HOV lanes on Burrard Street, will be reviewed later this fall when the Vancouver Downtown Transit study is completed.