SW Marine Dr
SW Marine Dr connects SW Marine Dr and 41st Avenue in the City of Vancouver to Wesbrook Mall and 16th Avenue on UBC campus.Characteristics
The ~5-km section of SW Marine Drive between Camosun Street and NW Marine Drive is maintained and operated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and connects at its southeastern boundary to two City of Vancouver streets: a continuation of SW Marine Drive and West 41st Avenue. At its northwestern end, it becomes NW Marine Dr, a road also maintained and operated by the Ministry.
The MoTI segment of SW Marine Drive has 4 lanes, 2 in each direction, separated by a ~20-foot wide grassy median with extensive tree plantings. There are ~8-foot wide paved shoulders on both sides for most of the length. The exception is the east side of the road for about 1 km northwest of Camosun St, where there is a 7-foot wide parking lane and a 4.5-foot painted bike lane.
There are 6 intersections along the road: Tamath Crescent, Kulahun Drive, Westbrook Mall, Old Marine Drive, 16th Avenue, and Stadium Road. All are t-intersections. Tamath Crescent, Kulahun Drive, Old Marine Drive, and Stadium Road meet SW Marine Drive at right angles; there are no traffic lights at these intersections. The intersections with Westbrook Mall and with 16th Avenue have traffic lights. There are added right turn lanes from SW Marine Dr. onto Westbrook Mall and 16th Avenue, as well as from 16th Avenue onto SW Marine Dr. These right turn lanes are not subject to the traffic lights.
There are three speed limits. For most of the distance (~3 km), between just west of Kulahun Drive and just east of 16th Ave, the limit is 80 km/h. At either end of this segment, the speed limit is 60 km/h. At the eastern end, between Camosun and Semana Crescent, the speed limit is 50km/h.
There is street lighting on the 60 km/h segments, but none along the main portion with the 80 km/h speed limit.
Between 16th Avenue and 41st Avenue, the road is travelled by and has stops for the following buses: 41, 43, 49, 480. There are 3 bus stops in the northwest direction and 2 in the southeast direction.
Connections
The City streets at the south east end are arterials with speed limits of 50 km/h, and with street lighting and sidewalks on both sides of the street. 41 Avenue is 2 lanes with parking on either side. The City’s SW Marine Drive is two lanes with paved shoulders designated for bicyclists. There is no curb and cars occasionally park to the right of the paved shoulder. The intersection of SW Marine Drive, 41st Avenue and nearby Camosun St. is complex.
There is no sidewalk for most of the length of the road. A paved walking path on the east side of the road starts just northwest of the intersection of Westbrook Mall and SW Marine Drive, and it continues for the rest of way in the northwest direction.
With Pacific Spirit Park, there is parallel unpaved path starting near Camosun St. and SW Marine Dr for ~ 3 km. It connects via various internal Park trails to the University. It does not connect to the paved walking path on the east side of the road that starts northwest of Westbrook Mall.
Pedestrians use the bike lane on the east side of the road northwest of Camosun St to access the bus stops at either end of the ~1 km bike lane segment.
There is no street lighting along the 3-km main portion of the road with a 80 km/h speed limit. It is difficult for pedestrians or runners using the shoulders to see the road markings at night, especially given the contrasting brightness of motor vehicle lights and no light. When motor vehicles are passing, the lighting is bright; when they are gone, a person on foot needs their eyes to readjust to complete darkness.
Crossings
The intersections with Tamath Crescent, Kulahun Drive, Old Marine Drive, and Stadium Road have no traffic lights. The intersections with Tamath Crescent, Kulahun Drive and Old Marine Drive have no pedestrian crosswalks. There is a crosswalk on the northwest side of the intersection at Stadium Rd.
The intersections with Westbrook Mall and with 16th Avenue have traffic lights. The right turn lanes at Wesbrook and at 16th Avenue are not subject to the traffic lights. The right-turn exit from SW Marine Drive onto Westbrook Mall increases the distance for pedestrians crossing the street to get to the bus stop on the west side. The right-turn exits from and to SW Marine Drive at 16th mean that pedestrians crossing here need to cross 4 road segments with large medians in between.
People park at the eastern end of SW Marine Dr. (and on nearby streets) and take buses to campus. Residents of the Musqueam area also take buses from this area. People taking buses from this area need to cross SW Marine Drive in either their outgoing or incoming trip. There are no crosswalks near the bus stops.
For most of the route, the 8-foot wide paved shoulders are used by cyclists. For 1 km northwest of Camosun St, there is a 4.5-foot painted bike lane between the parking lane and the moving lane. Neither the paved shoulders nor the painted bike lane are physically separated from motor vehicle traffic.
Buses use the paved shoulder for their stops, so cyclists need to stop or cycle onto the moving traffic lanes around the stopped bus. Buses cross the 1-km bike lane for the 2 bus stops on that segment.
Cyclists travelling straight need to cross right-turn exit lanes from SW Marine Drive onto Westbrook Mall, onto 16th Avenue, and onto Stadium Road.
There is no street lighting west of Kullahun Dr and continuing for the entire portion where the speed limit is 80km/h. It is very difficult for cyclists to see the road markings at night, especially given the contrasting brightness of motor vehicle lights and bike lights. When motor vehicles are passing the lighting is bright; when they are gone, a cyclist’s eyes need to readjust to the relative darkness.
Source: UBC Planning