The creation of a bus pullout area near Market Crossing on Marine Way has blocked a dedicated right-turn lane used by traffic leaving the Market Crossing Shopping Centre.
But the inconvenience will be temporary, according to James Lota, the city’s assistant director of engineering, projects.
“What we’re doing is, we’re putting in a bus pullout on that crossing,” he said. “So right now there’s a dedicated right-turn lane, so they’re just closing it off while they build the bus pullout there.”
Drivers will have to turn right from the right-hand lane on Market Crossing while work is being done on the pullout, Lota said.
“They’re not forcing people out into traffic, they just have to treat it like a regular intersection now,” he explained.
Construction of the southeast pullout near the shopping centre, and the northwest pullout kitty corner to it on Marine Way, should be complete within a month or so, he said.
“And we’re doing it actually to improve the traffic in the area, so that when buses stop to pull out, the traffic doesn’t have to stop behind the bus,” he said.
Sites for new bus stops and pullouts are proposed by TransLink, with the municipality approving the location and possibly making modifications, according to TransLink’s manager of media relations, Cheryl Ziola.
On Monday afternoon, the dedicated right-turn lane from Market Crossing was available, as city crews were working on the northwest pullout at that time.
The NOW was alerted to the potential traffic problems caused by blocking the dedicated right-turn lane by reader Harry McClelland.
The right-turn lane is basically an on-ramp that allows cars to pick up speed enough to merge into traffic on busy Marine Way, he pointed out.
“But now, you have to drive right out and stop, and wait until the light changes and the other traffic stops,” he told the NOW.
The volume of traffic was of particular concern, he said, but added he’d had a bad experience in the area when it wasn’t busy at all.
“This last winter past, I was driving along there, and it’s pretty dark at 7 a.m., and I discovered a huge container truck driving across into my lane,” he said.
