Officials from Metropolis at Metrotown mall say it’s just a matter of time before something bad happens at a busy Metrotown intersection.
The crosswalk between Metrotown SkyTrain station and the mall, next to the parkade exit to Central Boulevard, is a safety concern, according to Breanna Guy, manager of security, fire and life safety at Metropolis at Metrotown.
“We’ve quite frequently seen dangerous actions taken by pedestrians to catch a train or make an appointment at Metropolis at Metrotown,” Guy told the city’s transportation committee Nov. 21.
She said congestion builds up inside the parkade “causing frustration among drivers and potentially resulting in them taking unsafe driving actions in order to exit the parkade.”
Guy showed videos of pedestrians walking outside the crosswalk lanes and crossing after the “do not walk” sign flashes.
She indicated how the pedestrian traffic delayed cars from exiting the parkade.
Tom Webster, ICBC’s committee representative, said he shares the mall’s concerns.
“When you just see that volume of people interacting like that over and over and over again, it’s just a bad statistical situation. Something bad’s probably going to happen.”
He noted the intersection is one of ICBC’s top focuses for pedestrian safety.
ICBC data shows 24 crashes happened in the intersection between 2019 and 2023.
“I’ve witnessed quite a lot of unsafe pedestrian behaviour. I’ve seen frustrated drivers making mistakes as well, so, I am concerned that at some point there might be an incident there.”
Burnaby RCMP spend a “significant amount of time there in comparison to other intersections,” said staff Sgt. Thane Royce, noting it’s one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city.
RCMP issued 16 jaywalking tickets at the intersection in an hour in a recent enforcement exercise, according to Royce.
Guy said the mall attempted to address the safety concerns by bringing the issue to the city’s engineering department in 2023.
“The response wasn’t ideal, and we didn’t really see any improvements as a result of trying to reach out,” she said.
The mall created an internal traffic management plan and added traffic control personnel, but staff expect to see a “significant increase” to vehicle traffic as the holiday season approaches.
Guy asked the city to explore solutions including:
- Allowing vehicles to turn right on advanced green at peak times
- Considering a pedestrian overpass or underpass
- Timed traffic signals coordinated with train arrivals
- Public education on pedestrian safety
Transportation director Amy Choh said there are limits to what the city can do.
She said the timing of yellow and red traffic lights can’t be changed arbitrarily, as they are planned through specific engineering calculations, but she added there are opportunities to consider changes to the green light times.
She noted there are no plans for capital infrastructure at the intersection and added a new pedestrian bridge linking the SkyTrain station and mall will depend on discussions between TransLink and mall owners Ivanhoé Cambridge.
She said a scramble crossing (which stops traffic in all directions and allows pedestrians to cross in all directions) is under consideration.
