¥3 ~ Friday. February 20, 1998 — North Shore News

Residents clash with traffic conclusion

Open up Kings
Avenue again,
report advises

Catherine Barr
Contributing Writer

WEST Vancouver
council and school
board members both
have to take steps if
they want to solve
West Vancouver sec-
ondary’s parking and
traffic problems, says
an independent traffic
study.

Inadequate communica-
tion between the council and
school board combined with
recommendations that are
less than satisfying to most
area residents have left the
problem far from solved.

“There has been some
confusion and perhaps some
misunderstandings,” — said

school board CC} airman
Clive Bird.

“There's been a break:
down in communication
between us (school board)
and council. Ir has been less
than perteer.~

The ongoing issue was
rabed again in September
1997, when area residents
complained ta council about
the increasing safety prob-
lems on their streets as 3
result of the school’s traffic
and parking woes.

West) Vancouver council
voted in favor of several tem-
porary measures designed to
mitigare the — problem,
including the
Kings Avenue to westbound
trattic.

Council also requested
thar an independent craftic
and parking study be com-
pleted be the school board
in an effort to find more
permanent, effective solu-
tions,

Further confusion result-
ed when several arca resi-
dents were presented with

closure of

conflicting reports about the
study's traffic and parking
conclusions.

Now finally public, the
Hamilton Report: concludes
that there is a dack of on-site
pick-up and drop-off faeili-
ties, Inadequate On-site stu-
dent parking facilities, vehi-
cles traveling at eacessive
specds along both Mathers
and Inglewood avenues and
occasionai: blockage of the
17th Street lane.

The report: recommends
that the school board should
undertake othe following
steps:

B increase parking lots at the
school to accommodate 260
to 280 parking spaces:

®@ widen the P7th Street
access Jane to provide for
two-way Uraffic;

B install speed humps on
17th Street lane: and

B install a physical barrier to
separate and protect pedes-
trian from vehicles on the
17th Street lane within the
school site.

The report also recom-

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WEST Van school board
Chairman Clive Bird
acknowledges confusion.

mends the following actions
for municipal council to con-
sider:

@ reopen Kings Avenue
access to two-way traffic;

@ upgrade identification of

the pedestrian crossing at

1Sth Street to include over-
head illuminated signs and
advance notice signs;

B offer parking regulation to
the neighborhood on a
street-by-streer) basis once
parking capacity atthe
school site has been
iereased; and

@ enforce speed limits on
Inglewood and Mathers
avenues.

Bob Young, director of

facilities for West Vancouver
school district, confirmed
that three of the four recom-
mendations directed at the
school board have already
been completed.

The fourth, increasing
the number of parking stalls
to between 260 and 280, 1
also currently under way.

There are now 236 park-
ing spaces at the schaw!.

Kings Avenue residents
came out te a recent school

board meeting to voice their
displeasure ato some of the
recommendations.

“We don't want to force
our problems on others,”
said Dan Shapiro.

He says Kings has had to
bear the brunt of the situa-
dion and teels thar the prob-
Jem will return if municipal
council chooses to follow
the recommendation — of
again opening Rings Avenue
to two-way traffic.

Shapiro’s remarks were
echoed by several other
Kings Avenue residents who
agreed with his prediction.

David Thistle spoke in
favor of closing Kings
Avenue completely.

He thinks the school
board should have stepped
in long age.

He says the school board
has ignored the problem for
mere than five years now.

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