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 Resident Pierre Harvey points to trucks travelling down Nanaimo Street in Vancouver Tuesday. (CARMINE MARINELLI, 24 HOURS) |
ICBC will help police step up speed enforcement on Nanaimo Street starting Tuesday after city staff reported a 900-per-cent increase in truck traffic en route to the port since January this year.
The Crown corporation will install digital speed radars along the route to slow down drivers. This comes the same day as a crowd of Grandview-Woodlands residents gathered at the Charles and Nanaimo intersection to voice their concerns.
One resident said she refuses to let her two-year-old toddler walk because of the truck danger, while another resident said she saw at least six trucks blast through the intersection’s red light in a 40-minute period, with another two trucks trying to brake, but unable to stop before the light.
Truck traffic steadily climbed after Port Metro Vancouver closed down its Clark Drive entrance to trucks last June and directed them to Boundary Road to alleviate traffic congestion near Clark and Hastings. But recently, many truckers have found a closer shortcut through Nanaimo Street.
Cynthia Farnsworth, who chairs the parent advisory council at nearby Lord Nelson Elementary, said there are over a dozen schools and parks in the area. She said one truck’s inability to stop has already killed a teenager at Templeton Secondary earlier this year.
“We have talked to the police to step up enforcement and we now see radar guns on Nanaimo, which I’ve never seen before,” she said.
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Vancouver city coun. Kerry Jang said he’s expecting a memo from city workers later this week, but added the fix for Nanaimo Street – which is an inclined road – is not as simple as implementing a bylaw.
“We need to ensure that the goods flow,” Jang said. He added the port has notified all trucks not to take Nanaimo Street.
No trucks have been ticketed for any violations since stricter police enforcement began a week ago on Nanaimo Street, Port Metro Vancouver spokesman Tony Benincasa told 24 hours.