St Andrews Safety Improvements Project

Update January 18, 2024: A report on a recommended design from Keith Road to 9th Street is scheduled to be presented to Council at the January 22, 2024 Council meeting. Interested parties may join the meeting in-person at City Hall or by live-streaming. Prior to the meeting, the Council meeting agenda and report to Council be will available online. Those wishing to speak at the Council meeting are welcome to attend in-person, via Webex or phone. Details on the public input process can be found on the Public Input Period webpage. For more information on the Public Input Period process, contact the City Clerk’s Office by email at clerks@cnv.org or by phone at 604 990 4230. Visit the project webpage for details.

Update January 11, 2024: A virtual Council Workshop is being held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 4:30pm - 6pm to discuss the St Andrews Safety Improvements Project from Keith Road to 9th Street. Visit the project webpage for details.

Update December 19, 2023: The project team is tentatively scheduled to report back to Council at the Council meeting on January 22, 2024. Staff will bring forward the options considered and the methodology used to establish a recommended design from Keith Road to 9^th Street. Interested parties may join the meeting in-person at City Hall or watch from home by live-streaming. Prior to the meeting, the Council meeting agenda and report to Council be will available online. Visit the project webpage for details.

Update October 18, 2023: Construction between 9th Street and 13th Street is anticipated to begin October 25th and is highly dependent on weather conditions and contractor availability. Working with the City’s contractor, we will do our best to deliver all of the planned work as soon as possible, but some elements may be deferred until spring. If there are delays, we will be placed on a standby list and may not be able to provide written notice of new dates. Updates will be provided on the project webpage and signage noting temporary parking restrictions will be installed prior to any construction work. Visit the project webpage for details.

Between March 27 and April 20, 2023, we reconnected with residents to gather input about how people are experiencing St Andrews following safety improvements made in 2022. The engagement process was designed to gather information by mode of transportation to better understand the unique experiences of residents who live on, live near, or travel along St Andrews.

The engagement process included an online survey completed by 424 people, three small group workshops with 51 participants, and meetings attended by 15 people. Community feedback has helped to inform further changes to the street that continue to prioritize safety while enhancing the comfort of all road users. Learn more in the Phase 3 Engagement Summary.

At the July 24, 2023 Council Meeting, staff presented recommended updates to the corridor design that included retaining the uphill bike lane on St Andrews. These changes, known as Option #1 - Improved Separated Design, are aligned with Council-approved policy, road design best practices, future transportation network requirements and road usage data. Equally important, they are designed to balance the needs of many various users. Learn more in the Next Steps project report.

The outcome is a design that addresses the community’s main concerns through the following six key changes:

1. Clarify the intersection of St Andrews and Keith Road
2. Increase sightlines at intersections and laneways
3. Enhance the pedestrian waiting area at crossings
4. Reduce driver speeds
5. Increase the roadway width
6. Add delineators

Council directed the project team to implement the recommended design adjustments for the section of road between 9th Street and 13th Street, and explore further design opportunities for the most complex section of the corridor between Keith Road and 9th Street. Recommendations for this section will be brought to Council in fall 2023.

View the Design - 9th Street to 13th Street

The corridor design is available below. We’ve also summarized what we heard from you and how your feedback has been reflected in the six key changes.

[Click image to view the full corridor and detailed design changes]

1. Clarify the intersection of St Andrews and Keith Road

What we heard

• Transitioning onto St Andrews from Keith Road is difficult for drivers

How we are responding

• Council has directed staff to explore further design opportunities in recognition of the complexities in this area. Recommendations for this section will be brought to Council in fall 2023

2. Increase sightlines at intersections and laneways to improve visibility

What we heard

• Intersections and laneways are a concern for all users due to limited visibility

How we are responding

• Increasing parking setbacks to improve visibility at laneways and intersections

3. Enhance the pedestrian waiting area at crossings

What we heard

• Crossing the street is uncomfortable for pedestrians due to limited visibility

How we are responding

• In addition to increasing sightlines, pedestrian waiting areas are being established on the east side of the street at all crossings to further improve the visibility of pedestrians

4. Reduce driver speeds

What we heard

• Speeding remains a safety concern for all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists

How we are responding

• Installing speed humps on each block to reduce driver speeds
• Installing a marked and raised crossing at 11th Street and St Andrews to reduce driver speeds and improve access to St Andrews Park
• Extending the curb to create a curb bulge at 11th Street to reduce driver turning speeds

5. Increase the roadway width

What we heard

• Cyclists and drivers feel uncomfortable sharing the road in the southbound direction

How we are responding

• Widening the shared travel lane to increase cyclist comfort and provide more space for people getting in and out of vehicles
• Adding shared lane markings to position southbound cyclists outside of the vehicle door zone

6. Adding delineators

What we heard

• Parking next to the mobility lane is difficult for drivers

How we are responding

• Adding delineators and ‘T’ markings to define parking areas next to the mobility lane

Construction Timeline

Construction between 9th and 13th Streets is expected to begin in fall 2023. We anticipate temporary parking restrictions and partial street closures during construction. Advance notice will be provided to area residents prior to any work beginning and construction updates will be available at cnv.org/StAndrews.

Update November 2022:
Thank you for your patience as we complete the post implementation data collection and monitoring phase of the project. The project team will be presenting an update to Council on December 5, 2022 highlighting feedback received from the community, data collected since implementation and plans for further engagement in the new year. Learn more at cnv.org/StAndrews

Update October 2021:
This summer, we reached out to the community with a proposed design for safety improvements along St Andrews between Keith Road and 13^th Street. This section of St Andrews is a wide, local street that is well used by pedestrians, a designated bike route and an important connection to the Green Necklace, Lions Gate Hospital, Ridgeway Elementary School and other local amenities.

What We Heard

During the consultation process, we heard from many of you about how you travel along St Andrews and what safety improvements you felt were most important. The most common theme we heard was that excess vehicle speed is a concern.

We also received feedback on the proposed design, which included overall support for raised crossings, modifying the roadway to support slower speeds, and using the remaining road space for mobility lanes. The main concerns we heard were related to loss of street parking and not enough separation between the proposed northbound mobility lane and vehicle traffic. For more information, review the Phase 1 Summary and the Phase 2 Summary.

During the consultation process, we received several recurring questions about the project. Please view our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more.

Revised Design

After reviewing all the feedback, we’ve adjusted the proposed design to retain as much street parking as possible.

Changes have not been made to the mobility lane as the proposed design aligns with provincial and regional guidelines for a local street.

The revised design for St Andrews is shown below. Once complete, this section of St Andrews will include the following safety improvements:

• Two raised crosswalks at intersections with high pedestrian volume on popular walking routes to school
• Northbound parking protected mobility lane with delineators
• Narrower roadway requiring drivers traveling in opposite directions to slow down and navigate around one another using the pull out spaces along the street
• Improved sightlines at intersections

Section: 13th to 11th

13th-11th - click to view larger

Section: 11th to 9th

11th-9th - click to view larger

Section: 9th to Keith

9th-Keith - click to view larger

Construction Schedule

Construction for the project will occur in two phases. Phase 1 will begin in late October and take approximately one month to complete. This work will include installation of two raised crosswalks located on the north side of 9^th Street and St Andrews and the south side of 8^th Street and St Andrews.

Phase 2 includes narrowing of the road and installation of the mobility lanes. Due to a road paint shortage that is currently affecting North America, this work will occur in 2022. Area residents will be notified by mail before Phase 2 construction work begins.

Sidewalk Infill and Street Trees

Sidewalks are currently being installed along the east side of St Andrews to fill in the gaps where they are missing. This work is part of the City’s annual sidewalk construction program to improve walkability and pedestrian safety in the City. The anticipated completion date for this work is late November.

We're designing the traffic calming measures and installing the sidewalk in a way that allows for street trees in the boulevard. Street trees will be planted along both sides of the 1200-block of St Andrews in November. The remaining blocks will be planted in future planting seasons.

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Update July 23, 2021:
Thank you for your interest in the St Andrews Safety Improvements project. Our Phase 2 public engagement period has closed and we’re reviewing the input we received from the community. We’ll be sharing what we heard and presenting the final design for the traffic calming measures in September.

In April 2021, we reached out to the community about our plans to make safety improvements along St Andrews between Keith Road and 13th Street. This section of St Andrews is a wide, local street that is well-used by pedestrians, a designated bike route and an important connection to the Green Necklace, Lions Gate Hospital and other amenities. Our goal is to provide a safer, more comfortable experience for all road users.

Many of you shared your experience on St Andrews and what would make it safer and more enjoyable. The most common theme we heard was that excess vehicle speed is a concern.

Our traffic data analysis indicates that since the implementation of the 30km/r speed limit in this area, vehicle speeds have reduced slightly, but still remain over the speed limit. While traffic volumes have also declined slightly, volumes south of 10th Street are still higher than the guidelines set for a local road and bicycle route.

Proposed Design

We’ve developed a proposed design for St Andrews that addresses the issue of excess speed while achieving our design goals of creating a safer street for everyone.

The proposed design includes:

• Narrowing the vehicle travel lanes, along with lower speed limits, can promote a greater sense of speed awareness among drivers and force drivers to slow down when passing someone travelling in the opposite direction. Narrower lanes also create shorter crossing distances for pedestrians at intersections, which reduces the risk of an accident. Narrowing the road will also allow us to reallocate some road space to create a northbound separated mobility lane.
  
  

• Mobility lanes accommodate a range of human-powered micro-mobility options such as bikes, scooters, e-bikes, cargo bikes, and skateboards.
• Northbound, a separated lane for slower uphill cyclists will provide increased comfort and safety, and reduce conflict between cyclists and vehicles. Parking will be located between the vehicle lane and the mobility lane.
• Southbound, cyclists and micro mobility users will share the lane with vehicles. Parking will remain in the current location.
  
  

• Two raised crosswalks are proposed at the following locations:
  • North side of 9^th Street and St Andrews – this crossing is part of the Ridgeway ‘Safe Routes to School’ route
  • South side of 8^th Street and St Andrews – this crossing sees a high volume of pedestrian traffic
• Both of these locations currently have regular crosswalks. Raised crosswalks create safer crossings by helping to slow traffic and by drawing attention to the crosswalk.
  
  

• To improve sightlines at intersections and make crossing the street safer for everyone, 1-2 parking stalls per block will be removed.

View the Proposed Design

Images below show the locations of all of the proposed design changes.

overall plan - click to view larger

Section: 13th to 11th

13th-11th - click to view larger

Section: 11th to 9th

11th-9th - click to view larger

Section: 9th to Keith

9th-Keith - click to view larger

We welcome your comments and feedback.

Update April 2021:
Thank you for your interest in the St Andrews Safety Improvements project. Our Phase 1 public engagement period has closed and we’re reviewing all the input we received from the community. We’ll be sharing what we heard and presenting a preliminary design for the traffic calming measures in late May.

We’re making improvements along St Andrews from Keith Road to 13th Street to provide a safer, more comfortable experience for all road users.

This section of St Andrews is a wide, local street that is well-used by pedestrians, a designated bike route and an important connection to the Green Necklace, Lions Gate Hospital and other amenities.

Sidewalk Infill

This summer, sidewalks will be constructed along the east side of St Andrews to fill in the gaps where they are currently missing. This project is part of the City’s annual sidewalk construction program to improve walkability and pedestrian safety in the City.

Traffic Calming Measures

The installation of sidewalks is an opportunity to work with the community to address the speeds on St Andrews. During the summer of 2020, the City implemented a 30km/hr speed zone from Keith Road to 13th Street, to address ongoing concerns from residents. This February the Ridgeway Slow Speed Zone came into effect reducing the speed limit in the wider area to 30km/hr. Unlike other streets in the neighbourhood, St Andrews is a wide street. Even with speed limit changes, the existing street design does not create the conditions for slower travel.

To help reduce speeds and improve safety for all road users, we’re exploring a variety of on-road traffic calming measures that are temporary, easy to install, adjust and remove.

Together, the sidewalk infill and traffic calming measures form the St Andrews Avenue Safety Improvements Project.

This project is part of a larger, broader set of changes the City is making to its streets, as outlined in our Safe Mobility Strategy.