Drivers and nearby businesses in Hastings-Sunrise say new concrete barriers meant to calm traffic have created confusion while the city reviews their impact.
The Story
Concrete barriers placed along roads in Vancouver’s Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood are drawing complaints from residents who say the City of Vancouver’s traffic-calming approach is making everyday travel harder rather than safer.
The barriers are part of the city’s neighbourhood traffic management program, which was intended to address long-standing concerns about speeding and shortcutting while improving conditions for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, according to the city’s statement.
Residents describe the changes as forcing additional turns and longer detours across local streets. One Hastings-Sunrise resident, Tom Siracusa, said the result is a more complicated route network for people driving through the area.
Siracusa pointed to a specific example involving a vehicle being directed down an alley when it was unable to go elsewhere, illustrating how the barriers can alter drivers’ options beyond the roadways originally used.
Other residents say the measures can also be confusing for people who are trying to reach specific destinations in the neighbourhood. The complaints focus on how drivers are being channelled away from previous routes.
Maria Stanborough, an urban planning consultant who lives in East Vancouver, said the city’s plan does not align with how she understands typical traffic-calming goals. She suggested that traffic calming is most effective when drivers can clearly understand where they are going, along with measures that encourage slower speeds.
Stanborough said she is not convinced by the way the city is using closures and diversions, including blocking turns down certain roads that had been used in the past and diverting traffic onto school streets. She said it “doesn’t make sense” to her that approach, particularly as a way to manage congestion or improve safety outcomes.
A petition calling for the city to remove the barriers has collected more than 2,000 signatures, according to residents speaking about the campaign. The petition asks the city to reverse the changes, with organizers framing the barriers as a restriction on access to the neighbourhood for those who live and work there.
In its response, the City of Vancouver said the traffic management project followed an extensive public consultation process and was designed to target speeding and shortcutting concerns. The city said staff will keep monitoring the effectiveness of the measures and community feedback.
The city also indicated it may adjust, relocate or remove specific elements of the project in early 2027, depending on what the monitoring finds. For now, the barriers remain in place as residents press for changes and the city weighs ongoing input.
The dispute highlights a practical question for Hastings-Sunrise and other neighbourhoods using traffic-management tools: whether physical restrictions and re-routing improve safety and predictability—or whether they can increase confusion and reduce access for local residents, businesses and everyday drivers while the city evaluates their real-world impacts.
← More stories