A video of someone trying to turn on to a busy Vancouver street has sparked a conversation about safety concerns in the area.
If the feature image didn’t clue you into the street in question, we’re talking about Knight Street. As you surely know if you’ve driven near 60th and Knight, it can be a nightmare, depending on the direction you’re trying to access it. It’s also frequently congested.
That is abundantly evident in the video shared on a Metro Vancouver Facebook driving group.
In the video, you see someone heading from 61st Avenue attempting to get onto Knight Street. The driver succeeded, but only by blocking multiple lanes of traffic, as you can see in this very tense and suspenseful video.
The driver inches forward as each lane stops to allow it to pass and turns left on Knight.
In response to the video, many wondered why the driver didn’t just turn right and find a safer street to turn around on. However, it has also sparked some concerns from people who live in the area, as this problem has been ongoing for quite some time.
“The city needs to put restrictions in from turning left off the side streets from hours like 3 pm – 7 pm. And also turning left from Knight Street into those side streets during those hours,” one person said in response.
“I drive this way for work and I almost get hit every day multiple times due to this,” another concerned community member revealed.
We spoke to Kevin, the person who shared these videos with the group. He believes people are making these problematic maneuvers because Google Maps or other navigation systems are guiding drivers that way. Many in the Facebook group directed their ire toward those types of apps.
One concerned resident said, “All this AI and Google can’t even do the simplest task; if uncontrolled intersection and heavy traffic, don’t route people that way!”
Someone else said, “Just turn right first and left at the next intersection.”
“So damn painful,” another member of the Facebook group declared.
Kevin shared some other pictures and told Daily Hive this is an ongoing issue.
Courtesy of Kevin
He also shared additional pictures of some of the residential streets leading to Knight that are becoming quite problematic — primarily 62nd Avenue.
“I have repeatedly asked the City of Vancouver to mitigate this issue, but they said it’s not a priority,” Kevin said.
“62nd has a history of being a shortcut street for drivers heading northbound from Knight Street and turning right on 62nd to cut through and get to Argyle Street more quickly, which has already caused deterioration to the road.”
Courtesy of Kevin
Many parked cars have had their side view mirrors damaged by people trying to pass in the tight and narrow residential streets like 62nd.
Courtesy of Kevin
Courtesy of Kevin
Kevin has submitted reports to the City of Vancouver through 311, hoping for a solution.
We’ve contacted the City of Vancouver to see if it has a response to the community’s concerns about the street and residential avenues that connect to it.
But we’ll turn the conversation to you. Have you had experience in this area? Do you agree with the concerns? Let us know in the comments.