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Our 38th Year Pitti: - BCAA, - ARA. §
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NEWS photo Mike ‘waxetiaia : ie nee ; 5 COURTESY CARS q i : fe :
TRAFFIC guru Shaun Contin (above) checked cut the controversial Roche Point “NSEETIME H 8 ;

Drive hill earlier this week. Safety concerns about the North Vancouver road and
its Intersection with Dollarton Highway ted a local resident to commission an GU ARANTEE”
‘hs AS LONG AS YOU OWN YOUR CAR

independent study of the situation.
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DONTAYLOR venbswtattes * Estimates *

One man’s uphill battie [ seconarat Man. Sastrass”

, shaun
Contin

signals
TL’S mighty, majestic
and mountainous. It’s
the beautiful North
Shore.

‘Unfortunately, steep hills
such as ours tend to cause hor-
rible hazards for our car and
truck driving public. Add
snow or ice or torrential del-
uges to the mix and driving
problems increase exponential-
” John Hunter, a resident of
the Reche Point neighbor-
hood near Cates Park in
North Van, knows this all too
well. Admitting he has a bias
toward the integrity of his
neighborhood, Hunter con-
tracted an independent, third-
party engineering study of the
treacherously steep hill that is
Roche Point Drive, specifically
where it intersects the
Dollarton Highway. The
study, by SNC Fenco Inc., a
globaily respected infrastruc-
ture/engineering firm, found
the area to be extremely lack-

a

ing in basic minimum road
safety requirements

“The grade of Roche Point
Drive down to the (Dollarton
Highway} intersection is
approximately 16.5% and this
grade flattens to the Dollartun
Highway curb line over a dis-
tance of 7 meters,” the snidy
reports. hr effect, this is stating
that Roche Point Drive is very
steep and flattens out at the
very bottom — flattened for
slightly more than a car-
length, just as it meets the
Dollarton Highway. A grade
percentage, it should be
noted, is a ratio of vertical to
horizontal. In this case 16.5%
means that Roche Point Drive
descends (or ascends) 16.5
meters (or feet or inches or
miles) for every 100 meters
(or whatever) it extends hori-
zontally, Super steep, any way
you slice it.

The entire study was pre-
sented to the North Van
District council as a concerned
Hunter knew of District plans
to add more housing to the
neighborhood. More houses
means more people driving up
and down a dangerously steep
street. Council took noie of
Hunter's and SNC Fenceo’s
concerns but didn’t seem te
consider it a priority as it cited
several other hills in the
District of North Van that
were also very steep, some
considerably so, that weren’

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receiving any complaints.

Hunter's concern stems
from the fact that the Roche
Point Drive intersection at
Doilarton is bud. Father the
cresting, hill on Dolfarton just
before the intersection, a bus
bay, or natural and landscaped
obstructions are hiding from
view approaching vehicles
from various directions, There
simply is not enough space to
accommodate a proper reac-
tion time nor to safely stop
should one ar more vehicles
lose control.

There are numerous factors
to consider when building a
road. There are also parame:
ters set out in things like the
Transportation Association of
Canada Road and Highway
Design Manual and BC's
Highway Engineering Design
Manual.

SNC Fenco’s study found
that every single set specitica-
tion “is far below the recom-
mended standard.”

Couneil did note that there
had only been one reported
crash in the area. However,
common sense tells us that we
can expect a few more after
the new homes are built. It is
quite possible thar council was
not properly informed about
these ramifications.

Either way, however, it is
up to us to grit our teeth at
our hilly highways, bear ir and
be sate.

More,

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Price does not taclude PDI, freight, documentation or taxes. Lease based.on 48mo., down sayment os trade vatue -
of $2,500 required, total paid 1. $10,992 2. $23,088 3, $28,948, plus taxes, option to purchase at end of lvase.

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