40% of North Vancouver businesses considering relocating due to traffic (POLL)

Jan 20 2018, 3:45 am

Many businesses in North Vancouver are considering relocating elsewhere due to the traffic on Vancouver bridges, according to the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber recently revealed the results of its 2017 Transportation Survey, which invited members to share their experiences on the issue of traffic in the area.

Some 153 members responded, and it’s clear they are not happy. Some choice quotes from business owners in North Vancouver:

“Total gridlock on the highway. Delivery of goods is a huge concern and additional costs due to travel time to the North Shore.”

“All meetings and dealings with potential clients must be scheduled within a very narrow four-hour window or else nobody can get to where they need to be.”

“One of the courier dispatchers for a service located in Delta called coming to North Vancouver ‘the seventh circle of hell’.”

“How can we ask people to work for our company when it takes them 2 hours to
commute here?”

The survey found 76% of the businesses have employees who commute in for work. In almost half of those cases, commuters made up more than 50% of their workforce.

Some 95% of businesses said transportation issues had a negative impact on their ability to move to and from North Vancouver.

In a release, Patrick Stafford-Smith, CEO of the Chamber and Chief Development Officer of the Economic Partnership North Vancouver, called for government action.

“It’s time for politicians to be courageous in the funding they allocate for transportation,” said Stafford-Smith. “We need a significant investment to support the economy of the North Shore, and to integrate transportation with the rest of Metro Vancouver – not just for businesses but for their employees and customers.”

Researchers also found 51% of the businesses polled found it difficult to attract new customers and 45% found it hard to retain existing customers because of traffic issues. The same went for employees; 84% of businesses said they had trouble attracting new employees, and 74% had trouble retaining the staff they already had.

And while 40% of the businesses polled were considering moving outside North Vancouver due to transportation issues, 23% said they might just close down.

See also
DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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