Sept 2025 on the Shore
It’s a busy time of year. Everyone is back to work and school. Phew! Look at all that traffic. This edition is all about transportation - what councils are talking about and what you can do to make your commute less stressful and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. As always, we’re glad you’re here, Duncan, Martyn, Greg, and Heather.
Fall means back to school. How do you get there? Photo: Duncan Wilcock
Bus Rapid Transit is coming! We’ll need to make changes to accommodate faster and more reliable bus service. Watch the video on Youtube.
- Provide your input to Translink here. Duncan voted for the route along Hastings & Willingdon - there are places worth stopping at on that route.
What’s going on at council: transportation focus
District of West Vancouver
Changes to bus route along Marine Drive 🤷🏼♂️🚌
Meanwhile, over at the district of ‘no’…
At the first fall council meeting, staff presented a report on potential changes to the bus route along Marine Drive in West Van. The changes are designed to enhance bus reliability, speed, and improve safety for all street users. They are based on the 2023, Translink Bus Speed and Reliability Report, which lists locations for change.
A blue bus turning at Marine Drive and 17th Street. Photo: Heather Drugge
Fill in the westbound bus bays at 21st and 22nd Streets. This improves service speed. Not having to exit the travel lane reduces delays—especially those caused by vehicles parked at the bus stop. Additionally, in-lane bus stops reduce the number of crashes when the bus pulls out.
Construct a bus bulge at the westbound 17th Street bus stop, which would increase the sidewalk width, reduce right-hand turning speeds, and allow for three more parking spots.
Remove three eastbound and three westbound bus stops to improve bus travel times. These stops are very close together and would cause bus riders to walk just 40 m and 20 m further to access another stop.
Complete a detailed study of left turn bays on Marine Drive at 15th Street and report back to Council with the study findings.
Even with 100% project funding from TransLink, council voted against all the recommendations except the study for 15th Street. Maureen O'Brien, head of the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association, spoke in favour of changes that would enable businesses to access wider sidewalks, slow traffic and increase parking. Until West Van accepts that the only way to reduce traffic is to improve transit and active transportation, West Vancouverites will continue to endure congestion along Marine Drive.
District of North Vancouver
Curbside Management Priorities 🅿️
Just as the City of North Vancouver rolls out a new parking scheme along the Lonsdale corridor and beyond, council will workshop a consultant’s report on “Curbside Management.” The report recognizes that the district will face increasing curbside demands due to higher-density development, emerging mode shift options, and competing uses. Generally, we are in favour of equitable curb space use and discouraging the use of public streets for private vehicle storage, based on safety and efficient traffic flow.
Crows in flagrant defiance of parking regulations. Photo: Heather Drugge
Spirit Trail to Deep Cove update ⏳🚶🏼♀️
At the next council meeting, Sep 15th, District of North Vancouver Council will be considering budget deferral for the next Spirit Trail sections east of the Windridge segment from a completion of 2025 to 2027 - a full two years later than planned. That's just the segment from Windridge to Roche Point. It's a disappointment that this project crawls along with council dragging its feet at every turn. Here’s the report, presentation and recommendations from the Agenda pack.
Stories from betternorthshore.ca
Exploring liveability: two new urban parks
Urban parks benefit us all — providing spaces for recreation and social connection, enhancing environmental quality (air, water, temperature), boosting biodiversity, supporting climate resilience, and fostering community cohesion. Plus they’re FUN! Both of these parks were created as a consequence of nearby development.
Belle Isle Park in Lions Gate Village
Belle Isle’s large playground area includes swings, climbing structures, fitness equipment, integrated public art and a table tennis setup. The latter is part of a unique collaboration with the adjacent Lions Gate Community Centre, which lends ping pong balls and paddles to residents for play. Photo: Heather Drugge
The park also features a grassy recreation area for picnicking and relaxing, as well as a fenced dog park. It is a green oasis in the middle of high-density living. The dog park is on the left. Photo: Heather Drugge
Topo Park was developed in response to the increasing demand for public outdoor spaces in Central Lonsdale. The park was delivered in partnership with Cressey Development Group as a condition of nearby development. Photo: Heather Drugge
The park has a gentle sloping lawn for play and picnics, a playground that has cedar structures, a huge concrete slide, a saucer swing and a climbing wall. Photo: Heather Drugge
Topo Park also has seating options, pathways and lighting for safety and accessibility alongside trees for comfort and cooling. Shelagh the collie likes it. woof! Photo: Heather Drugge
Community events
Community Climate Connections
Greening our Community: Building a Mini-forest in the District of North Vancouver
Thursday, October 2, 2025 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Lynn Valley Library- No registration necessary.
Incorporating nature into our communities makes our neighbourhoods cleaner, greener, and healthier. We’ll discuss nature-first cities in general and then learn about a current project to build a Miyawaki mini-forest in the District of North Vancouver. These dense plantings of native trees and shrubs offer big benefits: they boost biodiversity, improve air quality, reduce flooding and runoff, cool cities, and provide green spaces that support well-being. The District’s first mini-forest will be built in October, with the help of residents who will do much of the planting. Find out more by attending the session.
Celebrated authors, advocates, and former Vancouverites Melissa and Chris Bruntlett return to Canada to share their story of relocating their young family to the Dutch city of Delft, and how becoming Dutch citizens reshaped their lives. In their book Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, they chronicle what it means to trade a car-centric lifestyle for a people-first, cycle-friendly city.
MONOVA’s latest Feature Exhibit
As we navigate our neighborhoods, we make choices — ones that impact our environment, our communities and our future.
Our latest Feature Exhibition Are We There Yet: The Sustainable Transportation Journey invites visitors to explore the evolving landscape of urban transportation in North Vancouver and consider how we can travel more consciously. Together we can envision a future where mobility is not only efficient and accessible but also a vital part of our collective response to sustainability. Through innovation, collaboration, and mindful choices, we can move towards a more sustainable tomorrow.
Where on the Shore?
The first person to send us an email with the location of this image will receive a Better North Shore T-shirt. (Past winners are ineligible) hello@betternorthshore.ca
Photo: Heather Drugge
Want to get more involved with Better North Shore? We’ve created a private chat server—a safe space to organize, exchange ideas, and work on making the North Shore better. If you’d like to get more involved, please join our Discord server. Join using this invite link.
If this newsletter and our stories resonate with you and your values, please forward this to a few friends, and suggest they join our email list. We're building a group of like-minded people who want to see the North Shore positively embrace and manage the many changes we face. Thanks, we really appreciate it. Heather, Duncan, Greg and Martyn.
