Article content continued

McGuinness said any changes to the streets for the B-Line Bus shouldn’t jeopardize pedestrian safety.

“My neighbour said, ‘Every bus rider becomes a pedestrian as soon as they step off the bus.’

“To me that was such a lovely phrase. It doesn’t matter where you’re going, the moment you’re off the bus, you become a pedestrian.”

Bruce Gilmour, president of the Dunbar Residents’ Association, is legally blind and relies on public transit to get around the city and region. He said he knows getting students, professors and workers to and from the University of B.C. is a necessity.

In the absence of a grassy area between the sidewalk and the curb, a lane of parked cars along West 41st can act as a buffer and increase the feeling of safety for pedestrians, Gilmour said.

“We have been told that pedestrians are concerned about their safety and it’s traffic based.”

Photo by Jenelle Schneider / PNG

McGuinness also pointed out that there is a section of older homes along 41st that don’t have back lanes. Instead, they access parking on their properties from 41st, which means either backing in or backing out onto the east-west corridor.

“My observation is that the city didn’t look at a map to see what they were proposing,” she said.

“They didn’t give these people any option.”

She said at a recent neighbourhood meeting on the proposed changes, held on a Friday afternoon at the Dunbar Community Centre, that city staff appeared “quite startled” when they were told that several properties didn’t have back lanes to access parking.