Keep the Calming: Hastings-Sunrise against rat running

I live in Hastings-Sunrise, where drivers use neighbourhood streets to avoid traffic on the surrounding main roads. I’ve seen the safety concerns this creates for people walking, cycling and crossing the street. We need the City of Vancouver to keep our traffic calming and work with residents to make it better.

This work began with residents asking for help.

In May 2017, the City launched community engagement in response to neighbourhood concerns about commuter traffic on local streets, particularly near schools. Early traffic counts showed that roughly seven in ten vehicles crossing the Adanac Overpass in the main rush-hour directions were non-local commuters.

The community has been involved through several stages since then. Engagement in 2023 included surveys, workshops, pop-up events and meetings with neighbourhood groups. Residents’ feedback helped shape a revised plan in 2024, including changes to barrier locations, driving access, speed humps and pedestrian crossings. I know this, because I attended these events, and quite a few of the original measures were changed with the input.

Our traffic calming came out of years of community input and work to address a longstanding problem.

Our neighbourhood is surrounded by major roads that carry regional traffic. Residential streets serve a different purpose. They connect our homes, schools, parks and community spaces. Traffic calming helps discourage shortcuts and slow vehicles where people live.

Minor updates to address alleys and specific issues

Since the installation drivers are cutting through alleys, bypassing barriers and ignoring turn restrictions.

As planned the City needs to work with the community to address these issues, and develop solutions to the alley racing, and maybe some enforcement around people illegally driving around the turn restrictions (I remember as a kid police would actually enforce traffic laws, but that doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore).

Removing the traffic calming across the neighbourhood risks bringing back the shortcutting that residents asked the City to address.

We are asking the Mayor and City Council to:

• Keep the calming
• Fix alley shortcuts and barrier bypassing through updated design, clear signs and enforcement.
• Follow the traffic data, and remeasure the impacts as planned.
• Continue the public engagement, and address the most notable issues.

Road safety decisions should be guided by real community input, not just a petition and some social media influencers that live an hour away, and include evidence and professional expertise. Years of city and community work deserve a careful review.

We are trying to keep this as a real community petition, for people who live, walk, and bike/scoot in the neighbourhood.

Sign this petition to keep the calming, fix the problems and protect safer streets for Hastings-Sunrise.