7993 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Ya, when I lived at 50 Songhees I used it all the time.

[amor de cosmos]

new photos

http://www.johnsonst...-bridge-photos/

Edited by amor de cosmos, 15 April 2014 - 09:18 AM.

[Gary H]

They've paved the new temporary hotel entrance and will be adding the left turn lane next week.  Yes, there we be a dedicated left turn lane.  I briefly talked to a worker there today and he said that they're going to create the left turn lane by moving the concrete barrier more to the south and reducing the width of the east bound lane (and probably eliminate the bike lane).  There will still be 2 lanes going west but everything will be a bit tighter - meaning everyone will have to go a bit slower through this area.

 

I also noticed that there are no longer any big pipes queued up for welding which could mean they are currently drilling the 16th pile.

 

http://www.johnsonst...side-of-bridge/

Edited by Gary H, 17 April 2014 - 12:26 PM.

[Gary H]

This guy must have missed that small sign and barricade.

 

[VicHockeyFan]

pfttt, Vic West kids these days.

[Gary H]

They've paved the new temporary hotel entrance and will be adding the left turn lane next week.  Yes, there we be a dedicated left turn lane.  I briefly talked to a worker there today and he said that they're going to create the left turn lane by moving the concrete barrier more to the south and reducing the width of the east bound lane (and probably eliminate the bike lane).  There will still be 2 lanes going west but everything will be a bit tighter - meaning everyone will have to go a bit slower through this area.

...

 

[Mike K.]

I'm still puzzled by this driveway. Will one of the lanes become a turning lane and a portion of the grassy knoll will become the right-hand travel lane, or what, exactly, is the plan here?

[VicHockeyFan]

Isn't it just a single-lane, one-way entry, like the old one was?

[Mike K.]

Right but how will the turning lane to the hotel be handled? Will traffic just stop behind vehicles waiting to turn?

[VicHockeyFan]

Right but how will the turning lane to the hotel be handled? Will traffic just stop behind vehicles waiting to turn?

 

Uh... yes, like every other left turn you make anywhere else in town, except exclusive left turn lanes at a few major intersections.  Cars behind you must stop or use the other lane.  I know, it seems odd, but it is only a 30kmh zone, and there is not really another way to do it that will please the hotel.  Of course, they might have been willing to take some type of cash compensation.

[Mike K.]

Drivers are forbidden from changing lanes between the bridge and the lights at Harbour Road and bicycles are given the use of the entire right lane through to Harbour Road.

 

I'm not sure adding a left-turn lane that will stop traffic is a bright idea (I had assumed they'd have used the knoll to allow a dedicated turning lane). Coupled with the sharp turn at that location and the speed at which traffic whips around the bend heading for the bridge this little plan is just plain nutty.

 

[VicHockeyFan]

I think you might be surprised.

 

For 30+ years, my family and I took this left turn every day, but is was not a designated turn lane, we turned left out of the fast lane on McKenzie.

 

I don't ever remember there being a crash (rear-end or otherwise) there.

[Mike K.]

Not only does this driveway hamper vehicles coming off the bridge and about to enter an s-curve, it also directs those turning vehicles across a bike path that sees cyclists traveling at a fast speed down the ramp between the alley along the tracks and the s-curve.

 

So let's say a left turning vehicle gets a break in traffic and decides to gun it, how much attention will the driver be giving the cyclist coming (literally) straight for their vehicle down a ramp located alongside the new driveway?

 

And to be perfectly honest why do tax payers have to maintain a secondary entrance to this hotel? It has a perfectly functional and safe entrance via Tyee and Kimta.

 

Here's an illustration using Gary's photo. The red arrow is the direction of travel of left-turning vehicles and the green arrow is the direction of travel of bicycles heading for the bridge down the ramp. The green dots represent the traffic lane that is 100% a bicycle lane when cyclists are using it (vehicles must follow the bicycles) and the red x represents the solid white line between the lanes, meaning you can't change lanes if the left lane is obstructed by a turning vehicle.

 

I dunno, this just looks like a disaster in the making to be perfectly honest. And you just know darn well some drivers will use the entrance way to exit the hotel property to avoid having to take the route via Tyee, and what about cyclists or pedestrians oblivious to the fact that they might impede an oncoming vehicle? 

 

[VicHockeyFan]

 

And to be perfectly honest why do tax payers have to maintain a secondary entrance to this hotel? It has a perfectly functional and safe entrance via Tyee and Kimta.

 

Either because it's always been there, or they own it, or it was part of the deal when they developed the hotel.  Something no doubt binds the City to give them the access or compensation.  I mean, would it be OK for the City to block the Empress Hotel front driveway for 2 years, telling them, "hey, you have a back driveway".

[Mike K.]

It would be nice to have David Broadland or Jaques Cade update us on what the deal is with this access lane. It just seems odd that in other jurisdictions when infrastructure work is taking place everyone agrees to bite the bullet and get through the temporary obstacles that construction presents.

 

I'm going to guess that the lane has something to do with emergency access?

[VicHockeyFan]

I'm gonna guess it was there, it was part of the deal when the hotel was built.  And they deserve to retain that access.  I can't blame them, nor do I think the new access is particularly dangerous for anybody.  To me it seems 500x less dangerous than some of the lefts off the Pat Bay Highway heading north.

[Gary H]

You guys need to re-read my comment. I said there was going to be a DEDICATED left turn lane. They will be creating it by shifting the barrier south and squishing the east bound lane (most likely by eliminating the short stretch of bike lane). They may also eliminate the concrete barrier nearest the JSB.

Also, won't they be CLOSING the E&N pedestrian/cycling path so your accident waiting to happen scenario can't happen? That's what that barricade pic was showing (that everyone was ignoring).

[Jacques Cadé]

I don't know if this access lane was demanded by the hotel, or emergency providers. But there shouldn't be a problem with cyclists coming down the sidewalk into left-turning cars: the E&N Trail path to the S-curve bridge is closed, and all cyclists are supposed to be riding on Esquimalt Road.

[Mike K.]

Well that settles that

[concorde]

Something no doubt binds the City to give them the access or compensation.  I mean, would it be OK for the City to block the Empress Hotel front driveway for 2 years, telling them, "hey, you have a back driveway".

Actually legally speaking the city does not have to provide access to your business and can even remove the sidewalk right in front of your door and doesn't have to compensate you.  I've dealt with that early on it my career.