Bob Mackin
Aggressive coyotes are getting all the attention in Stanley Park this summer.
But the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s turtle-slow reaction has put Stanley Park Causeway motorists and cyclists in danger of serious injury.
Stanley Park Causeway safety railings on July 3. Still not fixed in early September. (Mackin)
A May 31 crash wiped out a section of the causeway’s wired pedestrian railings.
As of Sept. 1, it has still not been replaced.
The Ministry told theBreaker.news that its maintenance contractor has parts stockpiled for incidents, but there were not enough parts on hand to repair the damaged section.
“The pieces are on order and are being fabricated locally, and the section of safety fencing will be repaired as soon as the pieces are ready.”
Instead of a gap, the section has makeshift barriers, tape and pylons. None of which would withstand a high velocity vehicle or bike crash.
Stanley Park Causeway crash in August 2020 (Reddit.com)
At one end, an orange traffic pylon is all that covers what remains of one of the horizontal rail bars that is near eye-level for thousands of motorists that pass-by daily.
In August 2020, a U-Haul van crashed into one of the barriers and the driver narrowly missed being impaled.
The best the Ministry can do for the time being is express apologies for the delay, and ask cyclists to use caution and drivers to operate vehicles with care.
Stanley Park Causeway safety railings on July 3. Still not fixed in early September. (Mackin)
Taxpayer and construction-funded cycling lobby HUB successfully campaigned for the barriers on the 2.2 kilometre Causeway’s curbs after a cyclist fell in front of a West Vancouver Blue Bus and died in May 2013.
The province spent $4.4 million on the project that included widening sidewalks and the logging of 14 trees.
Documents obtained by theBreaker.news under freedom of information show that it cost more than $18,000 to repair the railings and cables after three crashes between Jan. 1, 2019 and Sept. 23, 2019. More than half the cost was for replacement of eight top rails and 20 stainless steel cables in one June 2019 incident.
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