DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Pedestrians cross Canada Place on Monday. The area is crawling with tourists this time of year, and a Tourism Vancouver volunteer says vehicles are double-parked on the road all too often — even after a Massachusetts man was killed on Sunday.
On the day after a Massachusetts man was killed and two of his relatives injured by a tour bus at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver, police and port staff sported whistles and stop signs to help guard pedestrians and to direct traffic.
It was a busy Monday. Cruise ships Norwegian Sun and Disney Wonder with their combined capacities of nearly 4,400 passengers and 1,900 crew were in port and each hummed with activity.
Thousands of tourists like the victims of Sunday’s accident milled about, snapped photos, shuffled luggage, chatted excitedly and hurried off to other destinations, many plainly distracted from the dangers around them.
Taxis, hotel shuttles, work vans and private cars all jostled for position in front of hotels and on the street to pick up passengers, unload luggage and move goods. There were bikers on sidewalks and poorly marked paths, saleswomen and men hawking trips and attractions and suitcases scattered about the ground.
Amid the chaos stood Penny Tonge. The Tourism Vancouver volunteer has seen it all before, and like many people, found herself on the day after the accident considering what went wrong and how future deaths could be prevented in the area.
For Tonge, that starts with doing something about the parking problem. She pointed out a trio of double parked cars that were blocking the path of a bus waiting to unload passengers.
“This bus, say, has nowhere to unload because these cars are where they shouldn’t be,” she said.
But try telling some drivers to move.
“Even this morning, after what happened, this guy goes: ‘No, I can park here.’ I got impatient and said that’s why someone was killed yesterday.”
Just 10 minutes before speaking to Postmedia, Tonge said she witnessed a child nearly struck by a reversing vehicle.
She had been walking into the valet area of the Pan Pacific Hotel to put bags into the trunk of a double parked car.
As for the tourist buses, Tonge suggested they could park a block south on West Cordova Street as they did on Canada Day.
Among those who said he was hoping for changes in the area is Stuart Coventry, general manager of the Vancouver Trolley Company. It was one of Coventry’s coaches that struck and pinned the tourists.
“It is a busy area, as are all of the areas in Vancouver where tourism is involved. I don’t think enough can be done to ensure the safety of our tourists and pedestrians,” he said.
“All of us at Vancouver Trolley Company are shocked and deeply saddened about yesterday’s tragic accident,” Coventry told reporters not far from the accident scene. “Honestly, it’s shaken us in a way we could have never really been prepared for.”
The company’s buses are inspected daily by drivers and every six months by a licensed third-party inspector, he said. The driver had been with the company for seven years and had a spotless record.
Staff at the provincial transportation ministry said the company had 36 licensed vehicles and a “satisfactory” safety status — the highest rating possible. The company has seen no investigations, compliance reviews or audits for the last two years, according to the ministry.
When asked whether changes were needed at Canada Place, staff at the City of Vancouver declined an interview but gave a written statement.
Staff work with the Port of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department “to ensure efficient access, circulation and safety for all users,” read the statement.
“As the incident is currently subject to an active police investigation, the city will await the VPD’s assessment of the situation and will use that information to inform any possible future changes to signage and/or infrastructure.” No further timelines were given. Coventry said the driver of the bus was co-operating with investigators and was still employed by the company.
“Quite clearly he’s devastated and traumatized,” Coventry said.