Frequent delays on Ironworkers bridge may spur changes
It was just after 2:30 p.m. during Tuesday’s afternoon commute when Lower Mainland drivers started to hear a familiar warning on the radio — avoid the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.
An accident had blocked eastbound traffic and it was not until an hour later that Drive B.C. declared the bridge clear. It was just one example of the three to four crashes that occur on the bridge every week that can gum up the highway and surrounding streets for hours.
Recurring traffic headaches on the Ironworkers recently drove the District of North Vancouver and other authorities to look for ways to clear crashes more swiftly, including a jurisdictional swap between firefighters in Vancouver and those on the North Shore, and a proposal that could reduce the need for police at crash sites. Several of the ideas, some already in place and others intended to be by the end of the year, were presented to district councillors Monday.
About half of the accidents on the bridge are minor crashes that do not result in injuries, according to a report from district staff to the councillors.
But because the bridge is near capacity, frequent accidents can result in heavy delays, said David Stuart, the chief administrative officer at the district.
“Our experience is that even if it’s a minor fender-bender or even a stall … you have this immediate effect, and it’s not only up the ‘cut’ or backing up into Highway 1 South, but all our east or west routes are all of a sudden impacted,” he said.
North Shore municipalities, the City of Vancouver, police, paramedics, firefighters and transportation ministry staff, among others, came together last year to brainstorm ideas to help ease the pain.
Among the ideas is an agreement between firefighters that crews in Vancouver will respond to northbound accidents and those in the district will respond to southbound crashes. Prior to the agreement, the jurisdictional boundaries rested in the middle of the bridge. The shift is intended to reduce overall response times as well as the number of cases where firefighters from both sides of the bridge respond.
Another is a plan to have firefighters respond to minor accidents and determine from there which other services are required at the scene. Only police can require a car to be towed, so a legislative or regulatory change may be needed for firefighters to be able to clear a scene without a police presence, Stuart said.
One idea was simple: Inform drivers on when they should move along after an accident and when they should wait for emergency responders. If the accident is minor and there are no injuries, they should move, explained Erin Moxon, a project manager with the district.