Columbia Street Safety and Mobility Project
A part of the City’s Complete Streets Program, the Project was to develop a north-south bike and small mobility route west of I-5 for all ages and abilities connecting neighborhoods between the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail and the Vancouver Waterfront.
The Project involved improvements to bicycle, small mobility, and pedestrian facilities on Columbia Street between West Columbia Way and West 45th Street.
Where are we now?
We are currently in the Evaluation Phase. Data was collected in first year post construction and is being analyzed to understand how the new elements function and what, if any, refinements will be recommended to further improve safety, mobility and accessibility on Columbia Street.
Design and Construction
The following safety and mobility upgrades were installed and included in the project:
- Parking-protected mobility lanes between W 8th Street and W 13th Street.
- Sharrow marked lanes between W 13th Street and Mill Plain Boulevard.
- Buffered, zicla-protected mobility lanes between Mill Plain Boulevard and W 45th Street.
- On-street parking removal between Mill Plain Boulevard and W 45th Street.
- An enhanced pedestrian crossing on Columbia Street between W 6th Street and W 8th Street.
- Bike boxes and mobility lane extensions at intersections.
- Marked crosswalks with street lighting at intersections.
- Automatic bike and pedestrian counters.
- Outreach and education about roadway improvements and enforcement activities.
Evaluation
All Complete Streets projects have an embedded post project data collection and evaluation to determine how the added safety and mobility elements function, and to recommend refinements and changes if needed. This is the final stage of a Complete Streets project after which the road is monitored for safety or other issues in the same manner as all city streets.
The evaluation is currently underway for the Columbia Street Mobility Project. The yearlong post-implementation evaluation collected post-implementation data to compare to pre-implementation. Data was collected at the one-month, 6-month and 12-month milestones. Analysis of this data will inform what, if any, refinements are recommended to further improve safety, mobility and accessibility on the corridor.
