TRAFFIC A MAJOR ISSUE IN NEW WEST AS SCHOOL STARTS
New Westminster (September 6, 2022): As doors open for students on their first day of school today, expect our city streets to be full of traffic. New West Progressives (NWP) mayoral candidate Ken Armstrong, and his colleagues commit to implementing a number of different measures to improve safety and reduce the impacts of traffic congestion in New Westminster.
“New Westminster is at the geographic center of Metro Vancouver and as a result, our community feels the brunt of traffic congestion on a daily basis,” explains Armstrong. “More needs to be done to address the concerns expressed in our community about how more cars flowing on our streets is having a negative impact on our quality of life.” If elected on October 15, NWP will implement traffic calming initiatives to encourage safe driving by slowing vehicle speeds and reducing the volume of street traffic.
The safety of our citizens while traveling on our roadways is our highest transportation priority. Sharing the road with all commuters is key to the execution of an effective transportation plan. The current city council has not been proactive in consulting with the public on city planning. NWP pledges to ensure pedestrians are truly considered in our plans for all new transportation infrastructure investments. By actively monitoring and publicly reporting on problematic traffic patterns and hotspots, NWP will be able to target improvements for safer pedestrian crossings on major arteries with new signage, crossing signals and better lighting.
“We’re hearing on the doorsteps that residents are frustrated with drivers speeding through their neighbourhoods,” says Rick Folka, NWP council candidate. “If elected on October 15, we will provide better support – through targeted investments – the implementation of traffic calming measures in residential neighbourhoods impacted by ‘rat runners’. This includes fast-tracking the construction of speed bumps where residents have requested their implementation.”
Everything we do to improve the safety on our city streets will be in coordination with the New Westminster Police Department (NWPD). We will work with the NWPD to increase enforcement of traffic violations and improve the distribution of information related to the importance of vehicular, pedestrian and cyclist safety. Specifically, NWP will implement measures to address concerns of West End and Connaught Heights residents regarding “queue jumpers” on 20th Street. In addition to working closely with the NWPD to increase enforcement, NWP will paint “Do Not Block Intersection” signage at 20th Street & 8th Ave as a means of facilitating east-west traffic flow. This can also be expanded to other major intersections in New Westminster.
The goal is to establish new vehicular transportation infrastructure to decrease the overall traffic congestion in New Westminster. One way to help drivers get out of their vehicles is to provide them with viable options. Through meaningful consultation with local businesses and residents, we aim to secure their support for increasing the visibility and overall scope of our separated bike lane network and cycle pathways while avoiding detrimental effects on local businesses. NWP will also support residents and business groups interested in establishing ‘car free days’ in their neighbourhoods or business districts.
NWP mayoral and council candidates continues to share many of their policy ideas aimed to address the concerns and ideas they have heard from New Westminster residents and businesses, leading up to the unveiling of the NWP’s 2022 campaign platform later this month. Follow all campaign announcements at nwprogressives.ca/platform.