East Vancouver residents frustrated by ongoing truck traffic detour
The ongoing detours date back to 2010 and 2011. The neighbours say they were promised the change would be temporary. Now they're realizing it might be permanent.
"The container trucks are just blasting through the road, going uphill, revving their engines, shaking the building, rattling the windows," said Hastings-Sunrise resident Carlo Sombero.
"And it's just very triggering, especially when it comes to our health, because we're breathing in pollution."
"I think we're betrayed, sort of," said Rosemarie Sombero, Carlo's mom. "Because we trust[ed] a compromise with that temporary thing, temporary traffic [detour] — and later, it's kind of dissolved."
Clark Drive ramp closures
Northbound trucks used to use the Clark Drive ramp at the Port of Vancouver, bypassing much of the adjacent neighbourhood using Commissioner Street.
But for years, trucks have been taking a different route.
Residents say the container trucks now come north along Powell and Dundas streets and then Nanaimo to McGill streets.
According to a city report, the Clark Drive ramp initially closed in August 2010. By spring 2011, complaints about container trucks in the neighbourhood rose.
Michelle Brown-Colistro, a mother living on Dundas, said she's concerned about the dangers of truck traffic in the area.
"Just the other day I saw a truck run a red light," Brown-Colistro said. "I witnessed a car accident last year, where a container truck drove over a small sedan, so the safety implications for this community with young children are huge."
Residents say they want the Clark Drive entrance open again.
The Port of Vancouver didn't make someone available for an interview, but in a statement told CBC News the entrance doesn't work anymore for inbound trucks, and "is physically constrained for surge capacity or truck queues, which is often needed due to rail crossings and peak congestion times."
It said the existing setup has improved traffic, emissions and truck staging, and most truck activity is on weekdays in the daytime.
Residents may have to endure trucks until the fall
Vancouver's transportation director, Paul Storer, says it's ultimately up to the port to decide how it uses its gates.
"If there is a way to work with the port to reduce the number of trucks there, whether that's opening the Clark Drive entry or some other way, we'll look at that," said Storer.
He said the Clark Drive entry was reopened between 2014-2019, but it has since been closed again.
Storer said the port is currently collecting data on the number of trucks and where they're coming from, and he expects to hear some options from the port in the fall. He didn't specify what those options might entail.
But while the neighbours say they're fed up and need a solution now, it appears they're going to have to endure more noise and smoke for the rest of the summer — or longer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pilot confirmed dead in small plane crash west of Ottawa airport
The pilot of a small aircraft that crashed in Ottawa near the airport Thursday evening was pronounced dead at the scene, paramedics told CBC on Friday. Three people were aboard the aircraft, with the crash happening shortly before 6 p.m. in the area of Riverside Drive and West Hunt Club Road. The privately registered Grumman AA-5A aircraft took off from Gatineau airport at around 5:35 p.m., according to Jean-Pierre Régnier, an investigator with the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). At some point, "the engine sputtered and failed" and there was a substantial loss of engine oil, Régnier said. "The pilot declared an emergency with the Ottawa control tower air traffic control and he was cleared to land on runway 14 here in Ottawa. Unfortunately, the aircraft lost altitude and collided with terrain in behind me," he said. A photo shared by a resident showed a plane wedged in the trees. A man and a woman were rescued from the plane and taken to the hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The TSB and police have not yet identified the deceased man who piloted the plane. The Ottawa Airport Fire Service also responded to the crash, according to the Ottawa International Airport Authority. Operations at the airport were not disrupted. Witness recalls crash Adelle Forth heard the crash from inside her house and was able to approach the wreckage before authorities asked residents to move back. Forth said she saw fuel leaking from the plane stuck in the trees and worried about damage to a nearby power line. She tried to communicate with the plane's occupants but did not get a verbal response. "My other neighbour... yells at me 'Adelle get back because it's sparking and it could get it could go on fire' so I backed away," she told CBC. Forth said she's lived in her house near the airport since 1998, and has never seen a plane crash in the area. "It's just so sad that the pilot did not make it," she said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'A loud crack': Housing units in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, collapse
Ellie Upton was sitting in her living room playing Yahtzee with her sister-in-law Wednesday night when she felt her entire home fall to the ground. She immediately grabbed her son, dog and her purse and ran outside, she told CBC News over text. "There was a loud cracking noise and then the house started shaking and then we felt it sliding," Upton wrote. Upton's unit was one in a four-plex in Cambridge Bay that collapsed on Wednesday, according to the territorial housing corporation. No one was injured and all tenants were relocated to temporary accommodations, Nunvut Housing Corp. spokesperson Alexandria Webb told CBC in an email. As of Friday, tenants were not allowed to access their units until an engineer on-site says it's safe to do so. The four-plex is owned by Northview — a major residential landlord in the North. Northview is paying for tenants to stay in a hotel in the meantime, Webb said. Upton's said she was glad her other son wasn't inside when the house collapsed. "My younger son was out with his friends, which was good because his dresser and TV both fell into where they would have been playing," she wrote. Webb said Northview is covering the costs of hotels, food and basic essentials for tenants. She said they will also "cover the costs for hiring a company to assist with permanent moves when able to do so." The housing corporation said it continues to monitor the situation. Upton, who moved into one to the units with her family in March, said she had noticed the pillars holding up the building were slanted. She said when she noticed it got worse, she reached out to Cambridge Bay's housing authority, who she said assured her it was safe and someone from Northview would be coming to inspect it. Northview did not respond to CBC's request for comment.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hot, dry summer may be good news for P.E.I.'s giant pumpkin growers prepping for weigh-off
It's been a rather hot and dry summer on Prince Edward Island, which is not ideal for most farmers, but potentially a blessing in disguise for those trying to grow the province's next giant pumpkin champion. Mark Tremere, P.E.I.'s reigning champion pumpkin grower, said he had an early start this year. His main entry for this fall's weigh-off was pollinated nearly a month ago and already weighs about 77 kilograms (170 pounds). But just 10 days in, the pumpkin developed a crack. "I've been nursing that, along with some fans and some fungicide powder to dry it up and heal up," he told CBC's Island Morning. "It's doing well 20 days after that crack and it has scabbed over, and I am… optimistic about it." Tremere said less rain this summer might actually give him an advantage. With drier conditions, he's been able to better control the amount of water his plants receive using his sprinkler system. "With less rain, I don't get deluged with [an overwhelming] amount of water that will burst the pumpkin." This year, he's been more careful with his watering and has tweaked his fertilizing patterns and micronutrients, hoping to see better results than last year. 'I hope to beat him someday' The current world record for the heaviest pumpkin is 1,243 kilograms (2,741 pounds), grown over six months by Guinness World Record holder Travis Gienger in Minnesota. As for Tremere, he won top prizes in the pumpkin and squash categories at last year's P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off. The Marshfield, P.E.I., grower took home $750 for his 678-kilogram (1,495-pound) pumpkin and another $200 for his first-place squash, which weighed in at 361 kilograms (796.6 pounds). Tremere said the P.E.I. record for heaviest pumpkin belongs to Charlottetown's Eddy Shaw, whose pumpkin weighed about 802 kilograms (1,768 pounds) back in 2018. "I hope to beat him someday. Maybe this year, maybe not. You shall see," Tremere said. In addition to his main entry, Tremere is growing a different pumpkin for another competition, one that challenges growers to produce the biggest pumpkin in the smallest footprint. That pumpkin is currently about 63 kilograms and growing in a 150-square-foot area. It's gaining almost seven kilograms a day, and Tremere is hoping to speed that up to 18. And at that speed, he said, you can notice the difference every day. "You can put a water bottle beside them, and in the morning, they're pushing it over." WATCH | Great gourds: P.E.I.'s giant pumpkin growers nervous before this year's weigh-off: Building a pumpkin-growing community Earlier this year, Tremere hosted a workshop at the York Community Centre where he shared his best tips and tricks for growing colossal gourds. "We had a good turnout. There's 40 people there, which was awesome, and we look forward to doing it again," he said. "It's great to have a community to lean on and get more information and share with. And it just grows the competition and the hobby more." The 32nd annual P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off is set to return this October at Kool Breeze Farms in Summerside.
