North Vancouver to redesign Esplanade in Lonsdale for pedestrians and cyclists

Concept for the redesign of Esplanade in North Vancouver. (City of North Vancouver)

Roughly eight city blocks of the Forbes Avenue and Esplanade corridor — between 3rd Street West and St. Andrews Avenue — in Lonsdale, North Vancouver will be redesigned for a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly experience.

The City of North Vancouver has outlined a design that widens sidewalks and installs a protected bike lane on both sides of the street, largely accomplished by repurposing the existing curbside parking lanes and narrowing the travel lanes.

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To accommodate the bike lane, Forbes Avenue’s southbound direction will be reduced from two travel lanes to one. Esplanade will retain two lanes in each direction as a measure of preventing traffic congestion and maintaining critical access to industrial and port areas.

Concept for the redesign of Esplanade in North Vancouver. Click on the image for an expanded version. (City of North Vancouver)

For the improved sidewalk spaces, there will be more accessible seating, lighting, and trees to create separation between people moving at different speeds.

Larger waiting areas will be created at intersections, and advanced walk signals will be installed to give people more time to cross the street before vehicles start moving.

New bus stop areas will be designed to reduce conflicts between cyclists on the bike lane and public transit passengers. Accessible crossings for passengers to move across the bike lane when accessing the sidewalk or bus stop, and the narrowing of bike lanes near crossing areas to slow cyclists will also be made.

Existing condition:

Existing condition of Esplanade in North Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

Concept for the redesign of Esplanade in North Vancouver. (City of North Vancouver)

Other improvements entail adding left-turn lanes from Esplanade onto St. Georges Avenue, restricting left turns at 1st Street and 2nd Streets from 7 am to 7 pm to keep the single southbound travel lane on Forbes Avenue moving, and coordinating signal timing to keep vehicle traffic flowing.

While curbside vehicle parking is significantly reduced to make way for the changes, the municipal government states there are over 2,000 vehicle parking stalls in parkades within a three-minute walk of Esplanade. The reductions in curbside vehicle parking on Esplanade have the effect of removing 3% of all parking in the area.

Overall, the intent is to create a street that feels vibrant and welcoming for more users, while maintaining the street’s critical use as an arterial corridor for vehicles.

The estimated cost for construction is $5.35 million, not including $100,000 for consultation and design. Construction is expected to begin this summer for completion before the end of 2021.

Concept for the redesign of Esplanade in North Vancouver. (City of North Vancouver)

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