Lower Mainland's worst crash spots of 2023 aren't in these cities

Lower Mainland's worst crash spots aren't in these cities and we are confused

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A new report from ICBC shows the worst intersections for crashes in the Lower Mainland, but it leaves out some areas, and drivers are confused.

For one thing, the cities that aren’t on the list.

ICBC

The number one spot, according to ICBC, is the Alex Fraser Bridge and Cliveden Avenue on and offramps, which likely comes as no surprise if you are a commuter in this Delta and Richmond stretch.

The second spot is in Langley, at 264 Street and 56 Avenue onramp and offramps.

When we tell you the third, you might notice a pattern: The onramp and offramps for the Knight Street Bridge at SE Marine Drive.

But what’s not clear is why so many Surrey isn’t on the list at all, and Richmond is barely mentioned.

That’s something that was brought up in an online discussion on Reddit this week.

“Surprised KGH and 88th didn’t make the list, I am always seeing accidents in that intersection,” one person wrote about the exclusion of King George Boulevard (aka KGH) and the problem spots.

“That place has been a crash trap for decades,” someone agreed.

“Hmm. Out of all the cities listed here. Richmond’s only listed once as well. And even then. It’s more of a technicality of how poorly made that offramp is and how it shares boarders with Delta. Love how the people who love making fun of Surrey and Richmond for all the poor drivers/crime [are] the ones with high crime and poor drivers when it actually comes to the statistics,” another person expressed.

While many say those cities need to have been included, there is general agreement that the spots mentioned deserve their higher rankings. Among them, folks agree that the 264 onramp is a notoriously accident-ridden route.

“264th near the top, closely followed by 232nd. Sounds about right. Highway 1 needs to be a larger priority issue for the next election,” one person shared.

“I was rear ended at the 264th yield sign merging westbound in 2015. That intersection is an abomination,” another commiserated.

“I’ve taken that on/off ramp hundreds of times in my life and never really understood what makes it so dangerous. Like I guess the continuous lane for off ramp and on ramp is kinda sketchy especially if people try to cheat traffic but literally as long as you abide by the yield sign when merging from 56th you’re fine. But it’s like people totally ignore the sign and don’t check their blind spot merging onto it.”

Exit 19 Yield
byu/dblgee inNorthVancouver

The onramp to Highway 1 in North Vancouver at Lynn Valley Road has also been mentioned as a bad spot among the commuting community but didn’t make the list.

“It’s a terrible merge that suffers from a blind lead up with no acceleration point. If you’re merging during a time with traffic you need to get up to speed on the climb and make the quick assessment where to merge. Otherwise you end up stopped dead with no room to accelerate like everyone that takes the slow approach on WB Cap road on-ramp,” one person shared on Reddit last year.

That onramp to Highway 1 Westbound on the border of West Vancouver off Capilano Road is also a problem spot, with its two-second yield lane and blindspots to oncoming ferry traffic. It also didn’t make the list.

Google Maps

Highway 99 was also mysteriously absent from the top rankings.

By region? The Lower Mainland definitely has more crashes than other spots. It is actually a bit better than it was in 2019, but it is far from what we saw in 2020 during the crash pandemic.

ICBC

It’s important to note that the results have a margin of error and do not detail the circumstances behind each crash. Is this a city planning problem? Or ongoing construction leading to confusion? None of that is detailed in the figures.

One person also pointed out that it’s up to the drivers to not become a statistic.

“Pretty crazy drop between the top 2. Either way, it’s good to know to be extra cautious in these areas.”

What do you think of this list? Let us know in the comments.

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