Several times lately, I’ve been stuck in unreasonable traffic on Russ Baker Way, heading into Vancouver.
What is unreasonable?
Anyone who drives from Richmond to Vancouver along that corridor to the Arthur Laing Bridge knows it gets backed up in the morning rush hour. That’s to be expected, and TransLink also says this in its 2020 Regional Road Performance Report. I can live with that. Rush hour traffic heading into town — not unreasonable.
The drive into downtown Vancouver that normally takes 30 or 35 minutes might take 45 or 50 minutes during a normal rush hour. During those normal rush hours, traffic is heavy and slow along Russ Baker Way, but it moves continuously.
Non-peak traffic jams with no discernable cause that cannot be predicted are unreasonable.
The first time I got stuck recently was at 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon — not rush hour by any stretch of the imagination. Traffic was backed up onto the No.2 Road Bridge and it was not moving. It took me 90 minutes to get into Vancouver and we weren’t even going downtown!
You might think there was an accident or motorcade for someone famous arriving at the airport, but nope. There was absolutely nothing other than volume causing the hold-up.
The second time I got stuck was at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, a time when rush hour should be well past. It took me 50 minutes to get to Marine Drive and Cambie Street. When I drove home about an hour later, that same drive took me between 15 and 20 minutes. Again, there was no discernable cause for the delay and traffic was largely at a standstill.
Many, many times, also in off-peak hours, I have thanked my lucky stars I was travelling south as I watched traffic at a standstill northbound on Russ Baker Way, especially on Friday and Saturday afternoons. It’s ridiculous!
Traffic jams happen. They’re a pain, but you just have to be patient and eventually you will get there. But these ones feel preventable, and it would be great to know someone is working on a fix.
I’m not the only frustrated Richmondite. Last fall, a reader contacted the Richmond News about unpredictable morning traffic jams and her concerns were published. Her normally 30-minute commute nearly doubles on days when traffic is bad, a phenomenon she first noticed when school started in September 2023.
She voiced concerns about people using the far-right HOV lane and then cutting in at the last minute or cutting through the BCIT parking lot to jump the queue. I’ve also noticed that on days the police park and monitor use of the HOV lane, traffic jams are worse.
The News’ story found that almost 700 crashes happened on Russ Baker Way between 2018 and 2022, with 235 of those crashes happening at the intersection of Miller Road and Russ Baker Way.
The Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which oversees Russ Baker Way, said in a statement that they are aware of this periodic vehicle congestion and that it was due to growth in the City of Richmond and construction on Oak Street, north of the Oak Street Bridge, pushing traffic onto the Arthur Laing Bridge. They encourage travellers to plan ahead and allow lots of time when travelling to YVR.
The YVR Master Plan 2037, created in 2017, recommends the airport should “explore options for the provision of dedicated access for airport traffic including an airport-bound high priority vehicle lane on Russ Baker Way and/or the southward extension of Templeton Street to Russ Baker Way,” both of which would certainly help people finding themselves late for a flight when stuck in today’s unpredictable traffic jams.
The YVR report found support for fixing the traffic woes. “During consultation, we heard strong support for building and enhancing road networks that would help alleviate congestion,” the report says.
I’m not necessarily in favour of building more roads, but something needs to be done. Perhaps it’s an adjustment in the timing of the traffic lights on weekends to make the traffic flow more smoothly, or the addition of more pylons so folks cannot misuse the HOV lane and try to hop in at the end.
When I first moved to Richmond in 1992, the No. 2 Road Bridge didn’t exist. Traffic jams leading to the Dinsmore Bridge were brutal, but once the new bridge opened, they were a thing of the past. Later, in 2009, I was a daily commuter to downtown Vancouver along Russ Baker Way, and when the Canada Line opened, there was a notable reduction in traffic. I hope something similar is in the works now.
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected].
