New West city staff provide update after pedestrian struck, killed in Sapperton

We’re getting a sense of the next steps the city is planning to take nearly a month after a pedestrian died in the area of Columbia and Cumberland.

The pedestrian was struck and killed during the Family Day long weekend, on Sunday, Feb. 19. As The Anchor previously reported, no criminal charges are being laid, nor are any infractions under the motor vehicle act. The report does not make any mention of what exactly happened that day—but in the opening pages, staff mention being in touch with New West police to “understand the crash and potential causes.”

The six-page report outlines some background and next steps. Mayor and council voted to proceed with next steps during the March 13 council meeting.

Some of those next steps include the study of safety factors and possible interim changes to the midblock area of East Columbia, between Cumberland Street and Brunette Avenue/Debeck Street—a detail Mayor Patrick Johnstone shared with us in an interview nearly a week after the fatal incident.

“People want us to work together on something like this, so I do think—and I expect—that they will partner with us on this. The difficult conversation we have to have with our senior government partners is, if we want in the short-term to make this space safe, we may need to reduce the level of service on this road. We may need to close the right lane to trucks or close the right lane completely. And that means, as least as an interim measure, reducing capacity on this road for cars and trucks. That has not been an outcome they are interested in exploring,” Johnstone told us at the time, noting that the provincial government and TransLink would need to be informed of changes.

The area in question is part of the major road network, where large trucks are known to transport goods to and from various destinations.

Along with the planned study of interim measures, the city is looking to hire a consultant and project manager who would put together an intersection improvement program. Linked to the work is a long-term improvement plan for the approaches to and intersection of East Columbia Street and Brunette Avenue/Debeck Street.

The interim solution and studies related to this intersection are at this point expected to cost a minimum of $75,000.

“[The funding] will need to be externally delivered to avoid slowing other priority works for the transportation division,” the report elaborates, and notes at the end that it will work with the finance department to identify funding.

“In all of these plans, it was acknowledged that the area is challenging for a variety of reasons, including due to limited existing road right of way, regulatory challenges, and challenges associated with the MTP policy regarding not increasing road capacity for motor vehicle through-movements,” page 2 of the March 13 report reads.

The report also makes note of three existing policies and plans where the location has been raised: the Master Transportation Plan, (MTP) the Sapperton-Massey Victory Heights Transportation Plan, and the Brewery District and Royal Columbian Hospital transportation studies.

“In all of these plans, it was acknowledged that the area is challenging for a variety of reasons, including due to limited existing road right of way, regulatory challenges, and challenges associated with the MTP policy regarding not increasing road capacity for motor vehicle through-movements.”

The project is also mentioned in the Active Transportation Network Plan.

Moving forward, staff plan to give updates on the project on an intermittent basis.