Update: Starting date for Roadway Improvement Project has been pushed to Feb. 10, during reading week, so as to minimize traffic disruption.
Say goodbye and good riddance to that bumpy ride up the hill; SFU’s Burnaby campus roads will be seeing various upgrades by the end of this calendar year.
The Burnaby Campus Roadway Improvement Project is set to start Feb. 3, 2014 and to be completed sometime in November; it will affect Gaglardi Way and University Drive West. The improvements will result in two-way traffic throughout campus as well as what the project’s webpage is calling “a multi-use pathway for cyclists and pedestrians”.
The poor conditions of roads on the west side of campus are a natural consequence of nearly 50 years of traffic – the roads are as old as the institution itself. Aside from the pavement’s sorry state, these routes are lacking in pedestrian and cyclist accessibility.
David Agosti, parking services director, cited first impressions of the university as another reason to improve the roadways: “People’s first interaction with campus is the drive up the road, either in a bus or [some other] vehicle.”
He continued, “When you ride the bus down the hill, if you have fillings in your teeth you probably don’t have them by the time you get to the bottom.”
While the roads undergo these improvements, staff and students will have to cope with a few minor transportation inconveniences. There will be road closures, some permanent – for the duration of the project – and some temporary. Vehicle traffic will be redirected and bus routes will be altered.
Though the roadwork will affect different parts of campus at different times, the adjusted transit route will remain in effect for the duration of the project. On arrival to the campus, all buses will proceed first to the bus loop at Cornerstone and will then pick up at the Transportation Centre on the way down the hill. The bus stop by residences on University Drive West will be out of service for the entire project.
New road construction will be split into three phases: the first phase, which should be completed in May or June, will close northbound Gaglardi Way up until South Campus Road, redirecting all traffic along University Drive East.
Agosti explains that since the incoming lanes into campus will be reduced from four to two, “Everybody, whether they’re taking transit or driving, can expect a little more congestion.”
Since most students arrive on campus via transit, Agosti stresses the importance of students’ awareness of travel delays, saying, “Students can expect it to take anywhere from five to thirty minutes longer for them to get to class.”
Buses leaving campus should not be as affected. Agosti uses the 145 bus route as an example, assuring that students are “looking at an extra five minutes at most” to reach Production skytrain station.
Drivers are asked to follow the detours outlined in the project’s online maps and to avoid University High Street as it is already busy with elementary school traffic. Parking services also affirmed that all parking areas will be accessible throughout the entire project.
The project aims to not only provide a smoother drive and a better walking or cycling experience, but the two-way streets should prove more navigationally friendly for visitors to the school. In addition, the project website mentions that these improvements will provide more opportunity for development on the west side of campus.
