16th Ave

Speeding is a major safety concern along all sections of 16th Ave.

The speed limit on 16th Ave is 50km/h east of Blanca St, then turns into 70km/h before turning back into 50km/h just east of Hampton Pl right at the point where the westbound lanes merge into one. In the eastbound direction the speed limit is 70km/h right after leaving the Wesbrook Mall multi-lane roundabout.

Between Wesbrook Mall and Hampton Pl, where the speed limits are 70km/h eastbound and 50km/h westbound, the 85 percentile speed measurements were 74.8km/h and 73.9km/h, respectively.

Between the Wesbrook Mall and East Mall roundabout the speed limit is 50km/h. In Fall 2013 in front of University Hill Secondary school the 85 percentile speed limit was 68.6km/h eastbound and 60.1km/h westbound.

Between the East Mall multi-lane roundabout and Marine Dr the speed limit is 60km/h. In Fall 2013 the 85 percentile speed was 78.3km/h eastbound and 72.6km/h westbound.

The multi-lane roundabouts are signed with a non-binding 'advisory speed' of 30km/h.

Connections

At the east end in the City of Vancouver the speed limit is 50km/h. On the west end along Marine Dr, the speed limits are 60km/h and 80km/h in the northbound and southbound directions, respectively.

Between Discovery Dr and Blanca St there is a sidewalk on the north side of the road and an off-leash unpaved multi-use path within the Pacific Spirit Park on the south side adjacent to the road.

The multi use path on the south side continues between Blanca St and Wesbrook Mall, and the north side gains a cycle path (according to the parks map) within the Pacific Spirit Park, which turnes into a pedestrian path between Hampton Pl and Wesbrook Mall. There are no signs indicating the designation as a cycle path.

There are sidewalks set back (for the most part) from the street between the Wesbrook Mall multi-lane roundabout all the way to Marine drive, connecting to pathways along Marine Dr.

Crossings

There are no pedestrian crossings between Blanca St and Wesbrook Mall, forcing park users to cross at unmarked locations.

The Wesbrook Mall and East Mall multi-lane roundabouts have pedestrian crossings with pedestrian actuated beacons, where pedestrians are often exposed to the double threat scenario.

In front of University Hill Secondary School there is a mid block crossing with pedestrian actuated overhead blinking light. There is a median, but pedestrians are exposed to the double threat scenario.

There is a pedestrian crosswalk across the four legs of 16th Ave at Marine Drive, some of which expose pedestrians to the double threat scenario.

Connections

At the east end, the sidewalks continue in the City of Vancouver. At the west end, the pathways join the pathway along the east side of Marine Dr.

Between Discovery St and Blanca there is no cycling infrastructure on the road. The unpaved muti-use off-leash pathway on the south side is technically available for cycling.

Between Blanca St and Wesbrook Mall there is a 1.5 meter wide bike lane between parked cars and signed 70km/h traffic on both sides. The multi use path on the south side continues between Blanca St and Wesbrook Mall, and the north side gains a cycle path (according to the parks map) within the Pacific Spirit Park, which ends at Hampton Pl and turns into a sidewalk. There are no signs indicating the designation as a cycle path.

Between the Wesbrook Mall and East Mall roundabouts there is a shoulder bike lane on either side of the street, there is no parking.

Between the East Mall roundabout and NW Marine Dr there is a wide shoulder that can accommodate cyclists.

Crossings

At Blanca Street, there is no infrastructure to facilitate left turns from eastbound 16th Ave onto northbound Blanca, cyclists have to either cross two travel lanes to gain access to the left turn bay or walk their bike across pedestrian infrastructure.

The Wesbrook Mall and East Mall multi-lane roundabouts give cyclists the option to either mount the curb and walk their bikes across the pedestrian crossings, or merge into the appropriate travel lane and navigate the roundabout as a vehicle. The indicated position of where to merge into the travel lane is too close to the roundabout to safely gain the appropriate lane. Because of the nature of the multi-lane roundabout cyclists often make illegal lane changes in the roundabout so that it is easier to gain the right side of the road upon exit.

Cyclists can may also dismount and cross as pedestrians at the midblock crossing by University Hill Secondary School.

At the Marine Dr intersection, there are no facilities to help westbound cyclists turn left on Marine Dr, cyclists have to merge into the signed 60mk/h right travel lane and navigate across the right turn bay. Cyclists traveling southward on Marine Dr aiming to turn into 16th Ave have to cross two signed 60km/h travel lanes (just before the speed limit changes to 80km/h) to gain the left turn bay.

Connections

At the City of Vancouver Side, there is a short section of bike lanes on 16th Ave on the block west of Dunbar St. There is no bike infrastructure at Imperial Dr, or Blanca St.

At the Wesbrook Mall roundabout, there are bike lanes on the northern leg of Wesbrook Mall and the southern leg is designated 30km/h (depending on how traffic turns onto Wesbrook Mall the speed limit could also be 50km/h) with sharrows.

East Mall has bike lanes on each side, Ross drive is designated 30km/h (depending on how traffic turns onto the road the speed limit could also be 50km/h) with sharrows.

Marine Dr has a wide shoulder lane to accommodate bicycle traffic on either side.

Source: UBC Planning