Schoolchildren and parents using a pedestrian crossing on West 16th Avenue that has long drawn safety concerns may soon be able to cross the street in much safer conditions beginning next September.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told The Campus Resident the pedestrian crossing at West 16th and Binning Road will be converted to a standard traffic light.
The ministry says it expects that the change will be completed before school starts after Labour Day.
The announcement follows a long-standing request by the University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA) and university officials for change at the crossing, following repeated safety complaints from residents.
“Our community has been voicing their concerns about this crossing for a very long time,” UNA operations manager Wegland Sit wrote in an October 2023 letter to the ministry.
The crossing is used by as many as 900 pedestrians a day, Sit added.
The ministry’s announcement comes six months after Sit’s letter. Krista Falkner, UBC’s transportation manager, and Jen McCutcheon, the elected director of Metro Vancouver’s Electoral Area A—which includes UBC’s Point Grey campus—also supported the request for a safer pedestrian crossing at the location.
“It was never a quick process to begin with, and it certainly required some degree of patience to see it through,” Sit told The Campus Resident.
Falkner said UBC welcomes the announcement. “We will leave it to the ministry to commit to the changes and the timing of implementing them.”
Separately, City of Vancouver councillors voted unanimously on April 10 in favour of exploring a reduction in the citywide speed limit to 30 km/h on residential side streets.
The speed limit on the UBC campus including the residential neighbourhoods is 30 km/h.
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