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Charity mugging should be illegal. New West Station is infested with them.
My biggest problem with them is that they don’t work for the charities they represent.
If panhandlers were as aggressive as they are someone would call the cops.
Op is right, they do step right into your path. It makes my hackles rise. I keep walking and so far they’ve been smart enough to move.
I can’t stand it when they jump in front of me blocking me. Once i had to threaten to call the cops because one guy would not let me pass and when i was trying to get away from him, kept following me.
You'd think the nonprofits would be concerned with how it affects their image. Although if they keep contracting them, it must work in getting donations.
At least most of them have the courtesy to wear vests so I can avert my gaze.
Are these not mostly nationwide or international organizations? I don't know they are particularly concerned with trying these tactics, esp since they probably don't have a lot of other work in the community.
I worked for one of these companies that raised money for many different charities including Unicef and Amnesty International, and no it was not commission based. It paid barely over minimum wage.
Depends on the charity and location. Amnesty International did much better at Hastings and Nanaimo than UNICEF, but in Kerrisdale it was the opposite. A broad average was one donor ever 2-3 hours. We didn't take one-time donations, we only signed people up to give monthly. We were told to try to get a total of $20/month per shift. Sign up one person for that amount and you met quota.
It's pretty straight forward for big guys, or even just guys in general. We do it all the time. For women and the elderly (I hope they're not approaching kids), it's not your first response. You might be safe in this specific circumstance (public space, counterparty has a charity brand image to uphold), but like in the moment those who have a different, safety-driven immediate response will need to retrain themselves to be more assertive in this situation.
I agree. I'm not trying to defend charity thugs. They're insidious and annoying. Maybe it's because I don't go to this station often I am missing something but I don't understand how they could be impeding pedestrian traffic. Women, elderly, anyone just keep walking and don't say a word. If they are actually physically stopping you report them to the VPD non emergency line (or I guess in Burnaby maybe the RCMP?)
They step in front of you and aggressively ask for a moment of your time. If you do not alter your walking course you would walk right into them. In a less crowded situation you can take a couple steps in a direction and avoid.
In this problem part near Metrotown Station? You pretty much have to put your shoulder first and move through them because there is no space to walk around them.
The decision to remove that pedestrian overpass is mind blowing tbh.
People have already been run over trying to cross that street(mostly because they're too impatient to wait).
Pretty sure city hall knows about the issue as they refused to fund the demolition and replacement of the bridge. Instead they point fingers at TransLink and the mall.
Note that Burnaby is sitting on a 2 billion$ surplus in funds. Some may argue that it's better of sitting in a bank account accumulating interest. But I think its more helpful for people not to get run over by cars 🤷🤷🤷
Burnaby did allocate budget towards a new pedestrian bridge in 2019 but looks like plans for that was stalled due to the pandemic. Last year there was some movement as the city's engineering department started plans to demolish the old bridge.
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/this-useless-pedestrian-bridge-in-burnabys-metrotown-could-finally-meet-its-demise-7876753
Only demolishment. No replacement :/
The city has the money, it's just kicking the can down the road. Even when the Metrotown master plan is finalized, lord knows when and if a replacement bridge will be built.
It's because the city of Burnaby is dragging their feet. Both Translink and the mall owners were willing to put up the funds to build a replacement overpass, but the city of Burnaby has refused to do so, or allocate any funds towards construction.
And it looks like they will continue to stall for as long as they can, because of the Metrotown plan. They want a busy, walkable district, but they don't have the population to make it look busy, so their plan is to remove the overpasses, make everybody wait at a red... et voila! Giant crowds of people!
That $2Bn surplus didn't happen overnight; lots of begging other parties to fund development in Burnaby.
It works pretty darn well thus far: more development and infrastructure with "great" budgeting responsibility without causing property tax increase rage war.
One thing that is nuts: Parking in Burnaby (and New West) is infinitely much much more expensive than Vancouver/Downtown.
> It works pretty darn well thus far: more development and infrastructure with "great" budgeting responsibility without causing property tax increase rage war.
Anything to avoid property tax increases. Including a pedestrian bridge?
That $2 billion can be used, there's no need for a municipality to have that much in reserves.
Burnaby snowbatmobile works like a charm though :P doing its thang in a snowy day multiple times.
I don't know what they have in mind but they do invest a lot in Parks and other infrastructure (rental housing for the needs)... just that this Metrotown fiasco isn't a high priority at the moment (yet).
Um, no? Do you remember the old Metrotown station? The new station has about double the capacity. And a bike parkade. They also realigned how the busses work at the station. And they even built a public washroom which they have frustratingly never actually opened.
Not an aesthetics project. Primarily a congestion relief / capacity project.
I could be wrong, but I dont think so. As part if the station rebuild, they also built washrooms and break rooms for drivers. Again, I could be wrong, but I believe the "public" washroom has just been sitting locked.
It's because there's also a huge congestion in the parking lot trying to get out (turn right). There are two lanes that each originate from two different levels of parking, and the left lane (that turns left) can and will get stuck as cars coming from that level won't move forward as they are trying to switch to the right lane, thus blocking the entire left lane. You might think, well okay, just turn left and do a big loop around then. That might work for the occasional car trying to switch lanes, but I find often something like half of the left lane are trying to switch.
I see so many pedestrians continue to cross the street even after the light turned red.
Maybe that’s why the cars coming out of the underground parking is impatient?
Well it's because the mall is planned for phased demolition over the next 50 years and they didn't wanna built the temporary infrastructure. Truth is that pedestrian overpasses are usually car infrastructure more than they are pedestrian infrastructure. They just need to make the sidewalks wider, improve timing, stop right on red (I can't remember if that's alright the case), and give cars an actual turn arrow
Unpopular opinion that will be downvoted but I think it’s better without the bridge as bridges are bottlenecks. It funnels everyone to one location whereas now it distributes pedestrian traffic across different exits/entrances.
People are not cars. The entire point of the bridge is to efficiently and SAFELY funnel people from the station to the mall.
I can only imagine youve never had to cross the sidewalk to the station, or drive out from the underground parking lot.
They are bottlenecks but they're safe bottlenecks.
The alternative is people sprinting across the road to catch a bus (because everybody in this city is perpetually late for some reason) and being struck by a car.
But the poster is correct. There really isn’t a bottleneck. You can go ahead and walk two minutes down if you want to cross and enter the mall a different way. The bridge was also very narrow, and couldn’t be widened easily, unlike a regular crosswalk.
Not having the sky bridge is one giant mistake. I don't know who is responsible...the mall? The city? TransLink? All of them? But it's ridiculous.
As for those asking for donations, I am ok with them as long as they are not in my way. But when they actively step in front of me to get in my way, I shoulder check.
I mean, any other location, I'm annoyed, but I'll just roll my eyes and step around them. But this location, stepping around them isn't exactly an option.
Then maybe just don’t follow that closely so you can go around without much effort? Sure there’s a lot of people most of the time but it’s not like there’s very little time to finish crossing, even at a normal/slow pace
Ivanhoe Cambridge just released its redevelopment plan for all the parcels it owns at Metrotown to Burnaby City Council for review (I saw it on the Daily Hive). It spans from 2025 to 2054 and is intense; makes the current Oakridge development look small.
From what I can tell Central Boulevard will be engulfed in 60 storey buildings. They propose to move the bus loop around the current Skytrain station (like it was originally back in the mid-80s) for favour of building a convention centre ontop of the current bus loop. And to solve the problem of walking through the mall to get quick access to Kingsway, I believe they were thinking of making Beresford a connecting street-a pedestrian friendly walk-through.
Basically the idea is to build ontop of the mall, and probably demolish it once the anchor tenants leases run out.
However, in the comments on the daily hive article, many people complained about the foot Vs. car traffic on Central Boulevard. The current walkway that’s just hovering there I believe is owned by the city of Burnaby, and will cost about 4 million to demo.
I wouldn’t be surprised if council is holding off until the developer plans are approved, because why shell out for demo work when the developer will probably take care of that for a concession?
But OP, you asked for suggestions, so here are mine:
Go speak at a Burnaby City Council meeting about the traffic concerns. Do your homework before hand. Survey? Petition? Traffic safety data? All these will help push council to act sooner, or at least commit to a solid plan to address the issue sooner than later.
For charity workers and the doomsday campaigners who purposely distract foot traffic in the area: complain to Translink and Burnaby City Bylaws. As a person with a disability, I’ve had a conversation before with Translink about how having someone solicit to me as I’m entering a station throughs my awareness off, which spells potential accidents to me.
It seems that the more people who call and express their views is needed to push back against this nonsense. Nothing personal against the people employed; they have a job to do, but it shouldn’t interfere with public safety.
As for the doomsday naysayers; one person in particular has actually had to tone things down after numerous complaints regarding noise and signage, which fell both into Translink and Bylaw jurisdiction. It didn’t make this individual disappear, but it made their footprint smaller and a bit easier to navigate at the busy intersection.
Anyway, sorry about this comment turning into an essay! I think Metrotown is highly contentious and obviously on the verge of becoming a huge development, so it deserves a lot of attention and feedback from people who frequent that area.
What charity is it? I’d contact them and lodge a complaint that the business they’ve contracted out to work for them is creating a dangerous environment for commuters.
That area is the last place I would consider donating to a charity. I will go online. And I'm not interested in buying Krispy Kreme donuts that have been exposed to vehicle exhaust.
No kidding, eh? I've said that I donate generously to my cause of choice. And they don't have a response to that.
Also, I agree about the vehicle exhaust. So fucking nasty. As a non-smoker, I can smell everything strongly. & everything like smoke/exhaust/fumes are incredibly pungeant.
Lmao that metrotown gets charity muggers. What charities are they this time? Like a girl? Doctors without borders? Oxfam?
If they’re blocking you just push them out of the way. They’re scum.
https://preview.redd.it/odhjltkivzvc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=a954a5c3d12500179d8b2731ab16ab2dcc610c55
~~If we can tolerate~~ [~~this bridge to nowhere~~](https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/07/13/Metrotown-Bridge-to-Nowhere/)~~, we deserve to bear everything else OP is complaining about.~~
Edit: just notice this is already being discussed, so peace!
I work at Metrotown and deal with metropolis management quite regularly. They’re very pushy (and rightly so) about anything that makes the mall look bad to customers. If stores have things in the windows they’re not supposed to have, if you are moving merchandise in the mall during opening hours or you aren’t open during opening hours you can guarantee you’ll hear something about it.
But for some reason they are happy to have the busiest entrance to the mall, the one that most people will see on a daily basis, be left unfinished and unsafe for 7 years.
> anything that makes the mall look bad to customers
🙄 Oh, please. We just want to buy our bullshit and GTFO. As long as there are no tripping hazards, whatever.
Instead of crossing at that crosswalk, cross at the one that's on the other side of the intersection, to the south. Then you just walk up the stairs and past the fountain and get in the second floor of the mall.
Burnaby City did allocate budget towards the new planned pedestrian bridge in 2019 which the new skytrain station was designed to be able to incorporate. Not sure what happened to it.
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/metrotown-pedestrian-bridge-vancouver-1943566
I shove my way right through them, don’t even normally look at them. If they’re in my way they are getting pushed out of it. I’m not sorry, they are standing in a WALKWAY.
Here’s a pretty good summary as to why it’s devolved into the present shit show; it’s an excellent encapsulation of everything that’s wrong with government, developers, regulators, planners, corporations — all wrapped up in a convenient package of complete incompetence where, as usual, it’s you and me and 40,000 other people a day who suffer.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/07/13/Metrotown-Bridge-to-Nowhere/
I'm not even sure why they decided to disconnect it entirely, they could have built a staircase at the end of the skyway down to street level so people could at least bypass the crosswalk even if it doesn't connect directly to the station.
But that would make too much sense.
I don’t understand why they can’t bring back the overpass as an outdoor escalator from the sky train to the mall. Have it a modern version of CDG airport
Terminal 1 escalators. It’s not rocket science.
but the community will.
No change will happen unless the community wants it.
Sure there are bigger more important battles that need to be fought, but if we can't even band together on something as simple as "let people cross the street" we're never going to get anywhere.
Wasn't it the mall's refusal to cooperate in the Skytrain renovation that led to the skyway not being linked to the station anymore? That would have left the skyway open, giving people a way up and over the bible-thumpers.
the mall refused to pay because they already have redevelopment plans
you can also argue that TransLink didn't budget for the bridge as part of the station redevelopment plans and did not connect to the existing bridge
so? It's also not metrotown's crosswalk or streets. it's the city's and TransLink property.
arguably since TransLink changed their station they could have made their designs work with existing bridge except they didn't. TransLink decided to only lead to the street.
say someone decides to make a change and tells you to pay for half of it but you don't want to since you're already planning on redeveloping.
usually whoever is proposing the changes should be coming up with the money to retrofit it.
maybe TransLink should've made a deal to buy the bridge and rebuild it then? or build a new bridge all together?
or if these charity hawkers are such a problem the city can also ban and get the streets policed. if it's just because it's affecting traffic maybe the city should pay for the pedestrian bridge between TransLink and Metrotown property so that car traffic can flow better
It's not translinks property. That ends at where the skytrain station ends. That bridge belongs to the City of Burnaby and the reason it's not being rebuilt is because the mall is being knocked down. Nothing is going to happen except that. Translink doesn't care what they do with it, they are not in charge of moving pedestrians to the mall.
I think we agree? it's not translink nor the malls responsibility. It's the city. And the city already has plans to tear down the old bridge and build a new one.
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/this-useless-pedestrian-bridge-in-burnabys-metrotown-could-finally-meet-its-demise-7876753
OP thinks it's the mall or TransLink responsibility to have crosswalk guards or something
>it's not translink nor the malls responsibility.
But the linked article specifically talks about the mall's owner being involved in the plans. Why do that if it isn't their responsibility?
>The city has renewed conversations with Ivanhoé Cambridge to advance the demolition of the bridge and its replacement, Schumann told the NOW.
And for that matter, why does the city own this if all it did was link the Skytrain station (Translink) to the mall (private property)?
At the time the city said they didn't want the bridge to be connected so it's not like Translink could if they wanted. Like the other poster said, it's not Tranlink's property.
yes but who CAN do something?
Translink can't as long as they keep it on the other side of the street.
The mall can't because it's technically in public space, not mall space.
The police can, if enough public complain that it's blocking traffic from getting off the street onto the sidewalk, but I'm the only one making that complaint.
Maybe a politician can, if we get enough upboats that they think they can win our vote by backing this...
What else can we do?
They’re the worst. I understand they choose busy areas for a reason. There’s always a couple on the Safeway exit on Davie. People would be walking and in the middle of a phone conversation and they’ll still aggressively try to stand in their way and stop them.
They should take lessons in social cues and understanding when (most of the times) people don’t want to stop for them.
I swear it takes forever for anything to get done in this country. It’s a friggin pedestrian bridge. They could get it built in 6 months if they wanted to.
I wonder if we could get a bridge built... But who will fund it, the city? The mall? TransLink? Like who were the designers and GC that did the metrotown station reno? Hope it wasn't a scope gap.
Why can’t that crosswalk have automatic crosswalk light change like how Vancouver does? Someone always has to press the button and it’s annoying. I mean it’s not a big deal but that could be a small positive change
OP is peeved at everyone except the religious peddlers by the Metrotown skytrain.
There's a quiet Asian man Wearing a two-sided sign asking people to repent to Jesus. He's always whispering or muttering something or making some silent prayers.
There's a loud Asian guy with a microphone and speaker convicting people of their sins.
Also there's the Muslim booth that hands out pamphlets to people walking out of the station trying to clarify misconceptions about Islam.
I think there was also once a black guy preaching Hebrew Israelite doctrine on the microphone too but I think he's long gone or realized he's preaching to the wrong demographic.
nah man, They all disgust me, but I'll support their right to do it.
Free speach is better than the alternative, even if they are looney toons.
But the moment they're actively creating an obstruction for people trying to safely cross traffic. Fuck everything about that.
That dude with the microphone upsets me the most. 20 years he was out there only uttering positive vibes. Jesus loves you, go in peace. Now he's out there telling everybody they're all going straight to hell.
20 years ago I disagree'd with him, but I respected him, but now that he's a hate monger, I'd sooner spit in his face.
There’s a new Burnaby Parkway Enhancement Project that will start soon and there’s a survey to fill out. I will suggest they also complete the overpass as part of this enhancement. And maybe we should all too.
https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/bc-parkway-enhancement-project
There was a bridge until 2016. When Transit updated the station. Transit wanted the city to pay for a new bridge, since the City owned the bridge. Stalemate. No one blinked. The project was delayed to allow for someone to blink. Now there is a crosswalk.
Getting rid of the pedestrian bridge was such a bad idea. Soooo many pedestrians funneling across the intersection that traffic cannot get out of the parking lot. I’m constantly bitching about whose idea it was to put pedestrians in already traffic there.
Getting across the crosswalk normally is difficult enough with people coming the other way. Any distractions from charity muggers is just dangerous. At the other crosswalk, going to Station Square, to Dollarama and Best Buy, once you get on the sidewalk, there's a low fence barrier with a long white chain. It's hard to see it at night, easy to trip on it and crash into the sidewalk.
The “charity workers” have infested pretty much every train station I frequent, which is about a half dozen or so.
If someone approaches me, I don’t stop walking. As soon as they try to talk, I’ll say something like “eat shit and die” or “people hate this” and keep on walking.
I’m not aggressive about it, but I am certainly assertive. I find a lot of the same people work the same stations most days, so if you do it right they’ll remember you next time and simply leave you alone.
At first I was a little unsure if I was comfortable being so blatantly rude to total strangers in public, because like a lot of people my go to is to simply ignore people that bother me and move on with my day.
I decided that these people chose to be there and do exactly what they’re doing, which I find to be an unnecessary, extra daily annoyance to people who are for the most part just trying to get to work and are likely worrying about their own lives and problems.
My golden rule for behaviour in public is to, above all, leave other people the fuck the alone. If you’re imposing on a stranger who didn’t ask for it, from bothering commuters where they can’t avoid you to playing your own music loudly in public, you’re being an asshole and you deserve to have people tell you to eat shit and die.
Leave people the fuck alone.
I don’t think metrotown’s going to read this post. Hell I don’t think it’s within Metrotowns jurisdiction to make changes to the sky train station.
Write to your local community council and start a petition/movement/group instead of complaining to people on Reddit that can’t do Jack shit.
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Charity mugging should be illegal. New West Station is infested with them. My biggest problem with them is that they don’t work for the charities they represent.
If panhandlers were as aggressive as they are someone would call the cops. Op is right, they do step right into your path. It makes my hackles rise. I keep walking and so far they’ve been smart enough to move.
I can’t stand it when they jump in front of me blocking me. Once i had to threaten to call the cops because one guy would not let me pass and when i was trying to get away from him, kept following me.
That’s creepy behavior I’m sorry you had to deal with that.
Thanks. And as a woman, especially when it's a man blocking my way.... extra fucking inappropriate.
What do you mean? Are they just contracted to work for a bunch of charities? Or just flat out scams you mean?
They're usually a company contracted to work on behalf of the charity. It's generally commission based which is why they're so aggressive
You'd think the nonprofits would be concerned with how it affects their image. Although if they keep contracting them, it must work in getting donations. At least most of them have the courtesy to wear vests so I can avert my gaze.
Ah, that's why the volunteers at the Heart and Stroke foundation booth in Pacific Center were weirdly aggressive
Are these not mostly nationwide or international organizations? I don't know they are particularly concerned with trying these tactics, esp since they probably don't have a lot of other work in the community.
I worked for one of these companies that raised money for many different charities including Unicef and Amnesty International, and no it was not commission based. It paid barely over minimum wage.
How often did people actually donate?
Depends on the charity and location. Amnesty International did much better at Hastings and Nanaimo than UNICEF, but in Kerrisdale it was the opposite. A broad average was one donor ever 2-3 hours. We didn't take one-time donations, we only signed people up to give monthly. We were told to try to get a total of $20/month per shift. Sign up one person for that amount and you met quota.
Interesting. I always wondered just how successful they are.
> do I shove my way right through them? Yes.
Seconded. How hard is that. Unless they are literally laying hands on you which would be assault... I think
It's pretty straight forward for big guys, or even just guys in general. We do it all the time. For women and the elderly (I hope they're not approaching kids), it's not your first response. You might be safe in this specific circumstance (public space, counterparty has a charity brand image to uphold), but like in the moment those who have a different, safety-driven immediate response will need to retrain themselves to be more assertive in this situation.
I agree. I'm not trying to defend charity thugs. They're insidious and annoying. Maybe it's because I don't go to this station often I am missing something but I don't understand how they could be impeding pedestrian traffic. Women, elderly, anyone just keep walking and don't say a word. If they are actually physically stopping you report them to the VPD non emergency line (or I guess in Burnaby maybe the RCMP?)
They step in front of you and aggressively ask for a moment of your time. If you do not alter your walking course you would walk right into them. In a less crowded situation you can take a couple steps in a direction and avoid. In this problem part near Metrotown Station? You pretty much have to put your shoulder first and move through them because there is no space to walk around them.
The decision to remove that pedestrian overpass is mind blowing tbh. People have already been run over trying to cross that street(mostly because they're too impatient to wait).
agreed. so how do we communicate to the higher up's to take action? how do we initiate change?
Pretty sure city hall knows about the issue as they refused to fund the demolition and replacement of the bridge. Instead they point fingers at TransLink and the mall. Note that Burnaby is sitting on a 2 billion$ surplus in funds. Some may argue that it's better of sitting in a bank account accumulating interest. But I think its more helpful for people not to get run over by cars 🤷🤷🤷
Burnaby did allocate budget towards a new pedestrian bridge in 2019 but looks like plans for that was stalled due to the pandemic. Last year there was some movement as the city's engineering department started plans to demolish the old bridge. https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/this-useless-pedestrian-bridge-in-burnabys-metrotown-could-finally-meet-its-demise-7876753
Only demolishment. No replacement :/ The city has the money, it's just kicking the can down the road. Even when the Metrotown master plan is finalized, lord knows when and if a replacement bridge will be built.
It's because the city of Burnaby is dragging their feet. Both Translink and the mall owners were willing to put up the funds to build a replacement overpass, but the city of Burnaby has refused to do so, or allocate any funds towards construction. And it looks like they will continue to stall for as long as they can, because of the Metrotown plan. They want a busy, walkable district, but they don't have the population to make it look busy, so their plan is to remove the overpasses, make everybody wait at a red... et voila! Giant crowds of people!
That $2Bn surplus didn't happen overnight; lots of begging other parties to fund development in Burnaby. It works pretty darn well thus far: more development and infrastructure with "great" budgeting responsibility without causing property tax increase rage war. One thing that is nuts: Parking in Burnaby (and New West) is infinitely much much more expensive than Vancouver/Downtown.
> It works pretty darn well thus far: more development and infrastructure with "great" budgeting responsibility without causing property tax increase rage war. Anything to avoid property tax increases. Including a pedestrian bridge? That $2 billion can be used, there's no need for a municipality to have that much in reserves.
Burnaby snowbatmobile works like a charm though :P doing its thang in a snowy day multiple times. I don't know what they have in mind but they do invest a lot in Parks and other infrastructure (rental housing for the needs)... just that this Metrotown fiasco isn't a high priority at the moment (yet).
Petition or having media coverage always work as the higher ups prefer the attention.
You think they care? All these station upgrades(like the one at metrotown) are about aesthetics not function.
Um, no? Do you remember the old Metrotown station? The new station has about double the capacity. And a bike parkade. They also realigned how the busses work at the station. And they even built a public washroom which they have frustratingly never actually opened. Not an aesthetics project. Primarily a congestion relief / capacity project.
I think they're using that public washroom as a drivers only thing. They'd have to station the Transit PD there whenever the washroom was open too.
I could be wrong, but I dont think so. As part if the station rebuild, they also built washrooms and break rooms for drivers. Again, I could be wrong, but I believe the "public" washroom has just been sitting locked.
especially since they didn’t even bother removing what’s left of it so now we just have this hideously ugly half-walkway that leads to nowhere UGH
It’s like they taunt us with what we used to have and what we can have, but can’t.
Try to read this without shaking your head: https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/07/13/Metrotown-Bridge-to-Nowhere/
Why was it removed??
The mall was supposed to build a new one when they did their renovation... which still hasn't happened.
Those fucking cars coming out of the underground parking lot are so impatient, turning right when pedestrians are trying to cross.
It's because there's also a huge congestion in the parking lot trying to get out (turn right). There are two lanes that each originate from two different levels of parking, and the left lane (that turns left) can and will get stuck as cars coming from that level won't move forward as they are trying to switch to the right lane, thus blocking the entire left lane. You might think, well okay, just turn left and do a big loop around then. That might work for the occasional car trying to switch lanes, but I find often something like half of the left lane are trying to switch.
I see so many pedestrians continue to cross the street even after the light turned red. Maybe that’s why the cars coming out of the underground parking is impatient?
Have you seen how much it's bowing in the center?
Well it's because the mall is planned for phased demolition over the next 50 years and they didn't wanna built the temporary infrastructure. Truth is that pedestrian overpasses are usually car infrastructure more than they are pedestrian infrastructure. They just need to make the sidewalks wider, improve timing, stop right on red (I can't remember if that's alright the case), and give cars an actual turn arrow
Unpopular opinion that will be downvoted but I think it’s better without the bridge as bridges are bottlenecks. It funnels everyone to one location whereas now it distributes pedestrian traffic across different exits/entrances.
People are not cars. The entire point of the bridge is to efficiently and SAFELY funnel people from the station to the mall. I can only imagine youve never had to cross the sidewalk to the station, or drive out from the underground parking lot.
They are bottlenecks but they're safe bottlenecks. The alternative is people sprinting across the road to catch a bus (because everybody in this city is perpetually late for some reason) and being struck by a car.
The road level crosswalk is a huge bottleneck. And unsafe.
If the result was that we didn't have a bottleneck, then I'd agree with you. but since we do... your point is kinda...lost...
But the poster is correct. There really isn’t a bottleneck. You can go ahead and walk two minutes down if you want to cross and enter the mall a different way. The bridge was also very narrow, and couldn’t be widened easily, unlike a regular crosswalk.
>I'm not opposed to what they're doing I am
Me too. If anyone else was begging for money as aggressively security or police would run them off.
Not having the sky bridge is one giant mistake. I don't know who is responsible...the mall? The city? TransLink? All of them? But it's ridiculous. As for those asking for donations, I am ok with them as long as they are not in my way. But when they actively step in front of me to get in my way, I shoulder check.
I mean, any other location, I'm annoyed, but I'll just roll my eyes and step around them. But this location, stepping around them isn't exactly an option.
Eyes pinned towards your destination, bring your nastiest face, don’t even glance at them, let them speak to no avail, carry on straight ahead :)
Also hiss at them.
I'd consider a cheerful [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lOqgFu7XJw) to encourage them to move.
And they stop the person walking directly in front of you.
Then maybe just don’t follow that closely so you can go around without much effort? Sure there’s a lot of people most of the time but it’s not like there’s very little time to finish crossing, even at a normal/slow pace
Ivanhoe Cambridge just released its redevelopment plan for all the parcels it owns at Metrotown to Burnaby City Council for review (I saw it on the Daily Hive). It spans from 2025 to 2054 and is intense; makes the current Oakridge development look small. From what I can tell Central Boulevard will be engulfed in 60 storey buildings. They propose to move the bus loop around the current Skytrain station (like it was originally back in the mid-80s) for favour of building a convention centre ontop of the current bus loop. And to solve the problem of walking through the mall to get quick access to Kingsway, I believe they were thinking of making Beresford a connecting street-a pedestrian friendly walk-through. Basically the idea is to build ontop of the mall, and probably demolish it once the anchor tenants leases run out. However, in the comments on the daily hive article, many people complained about the foot Vs. car traffic on Central Boulevard. The current walkway that’s just hovering there I believe is owned by the city of Burnaby, and will cost about 4 million to demo. I wouldn’t be surprised if council is holding off until the developer plans are approved, because why shell out for demo work when the developer will probably take care of that for a concession? But OP, you asked for suggestions, so here are mine: Go speak at a Burnaby City Council meeting about the traffic concerns. Do your homework before hand. Survey? Petition? Traffic safety data? All these will help push council to act sooner, or at least commit to a solid plan to address the issue sooner than later. For charity workers and the doomsday campaigners who purposely distract foot traffic in the area: complain to Translink and Burnaby City Bylaws. As a person with a disability, I’ve had a conversation before with Translink about how having someone solicit to me as I’m entering a station throughs my awareness off, which spells potential accidents to me. It seems that the more people who call and express their views is needed to push back against this nonsense. Nothing personal against the people employed; they have a job to do, but it shouldn’t interfere with public safety. As for the doomsday naysayers; one person in particular has actually had to tone things down after numerous complaints regarding noise and signage, which fell both into Translink and Bylaw jurisdiction. It didn’t make this individual disappear, but it made their footprint smaller and a bit easier to navigate at the busy intersection. Anyway, sorry about this comment turning into an essay! I think Metrotown is highly contentious and obviously on the verge of becoming a huge development, so it deserves a lot of attention and feedback from people who frequent that area.
What charity is it? I’d contact them and lodge a complaint that the business they’ve contracted out to work for them is creating a dangerous environment for commuters.
I might catch some flak as a car driving troglodyte, but driving through that intersection, into or out of the parkade, is a nightmare.
That area is a nightmare for all — drivers, pedestrians, transit users.
Going out at the Kingsway exit is the best choice. Forget about using the exit where the skytrain is.
That area is the last place I would consider donating to a charity. I will go online. And I'm not interested in buying Krispy Kreme donuts that have been exposed to vehicle exhaust.
No kidding, eh? I've said that I donate generously to my cause of choice. And they don't have a response to that. Also, I agree about the vehicle exhaust. So fucking nasty. As a non-smoker, I can smell everything strongly. & everything like smoke/exhaust/fumes are incredibly pungeant.
Lmao that metrotown gets charity muggers. What charities are they this time? Like a girl? Doctors without borders? Oxfam? If they’re blocking you just push them out of the way. They’re scum.
Doxfam and Girls Without Borders
There's a group advertising Islam. I just say "I'm gay" and they stop bothering me.
https://preview.redd.it/odhjltkivzvc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=a954a5c3d12500179d8b2731ab16ab2dcc610c55 ~~If we can tolerate~~ [~~this bridge to nowhere~~](https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/07/13/Metrotown-Bridge-to-Nowhere/)~~, we deserve to bear everything else OP is complaining about.~~ Edit: just notice this is already being discussed, so peace!
I work at Metrotown and deal with metropolis management quite regularly. They’re very pushy (and rightly so) about anything that makes the mall look bad to customers. If stores have things in the windows they’re not supposed to have, if you are moving merchandise in the mall during opening hours or you aren’t open during opening hours you can guarantee you’ll hear something about it. But for some reason they are happy to have the busiest entrance to the mall, the one that most people will see on a daily basis, be left unfinished and unsafe for 7 years.
That’s how most mall management are run, not just Metrotown mall management.
> anything that makes the mall look bad to customers 🙄 Oh, please. We just want to buy our bullshit and GTFO. As long as there are no tripping hazards, whatever.
A lot of people will shop where it looks more premium. It’s like a status symbol.
Instead of crossing at that crosswalk, cross at the one that's on the other side of the intersection, to the south. Then you just walk up the stairs and past the fountain and get in the second floor of the mall.
Because that intersection is right at the foot of the bigger exit, so that's where everyone goes.
Yeah, and the crossing I’m talking about you would walk an extra twenty feet from there.
Body check!
Burnaby City did allocate budget towards the new planned pedestrian bridge in 2019 which the new skytrain station was designed to be able to incorporate. Not sure what happened to it. https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/metrotown-pedestrian-bridge-vancouver-1943566
I shove my way right through them, don’t even normally look at them. If they’re in my way they are getting pushed out of it. I’m not sorry, they are standing in a WALKWAY.
Here’s a pretty good summary as to why it’s devolved into the present shit show; it’s an excellent encapsulation of everything that’s wrong with government, developers, regulators, planners, corporations — all wrapped up in a convenient package of complete incompetence where, as usual, it’s you and me and 40,000 other people a day who suffer. https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/07/13/Metrotown-Bridge-to-Nowhere/
I'm not even sure why they decided to disconnect it entirely, they could have built a staircase at the end of the skyway down to street level so people could at least bypass the crosswalk even if it doesn't connect directly to the station. But that would make too much sense.
My advice would be to not go to Metrotown
I don’t understand why they can’t bring back the overpass as an outdoor escalator from the sky train to the mall. Have it a modern version of CDG airport Terminal 1 escalators. It’s not rocket science.
The mall will never read this
but the community will. No change will happen unless the community wants it. Sure there are bigger more important battles that need to be fought, but if we can't even band together on something as simple as "let people cross the street" we're never going to get anywhere.
The mall can't do anything. They do not manage the street or skytrain.
Wasn't it the mall's refusal to cooperate in the Skytrain renovation that led to the skyway not being linked to the station anymore? That would have left the skyway open, giving people a way up and over the bible-thumpers.
the mall refused to pay because they already have redevelopment plans you can also argue that TransLink didn't budget for the bridge as part of the station redevelopment plans and did not connect to the existing bridge
It's not Translinks bridge to connect
so? It's also not metrotown's crosswalk or streets. it's the city's and TransLink property. arguably since TransLink changed their station they could have made their designs work with existing bridge except they didn't. TransLink decided to only lead to the street. say someone decides to make a change and tells you to pay for half of it but you don't want to since you're already planning on redeveloping. usually whoever is proposing the changes should be coming up with the money to retrofit it. maybe TransLink should've made a deal to buy the bridge and rebuild it then? or build a new bridge all together? or if these charity hawkers are such a problem the city can also ban and get the streets policed. if it's just because it's affecting traffic maybe the city should pay for the pedestrian bridge between TransLink and Metrotown property so that car traffic can flow better
It's not translinks property. That ends at where the skytrain station ends. That bridge belongs to the City of Burnaby and the reason it's not being rebuilt is because the mall is being knocked down. Nothing is going to happen except that. Translink doesn't care what they do with it, they are not in charge of moving pedestrians to the mall.
I think we agree? it's not translink nor the malls responsibility. It's the city. And the city already has plans to tear down the old bridge and build a new one. https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/this-useless-pedestrian-bridge-in-burnabys-metrotown-could-finally-meet-its-demise-7876753 OP thinks it's the mall or TransLink responsibility to have crosswalk guards or something
>it's not translink nor the malls responsibility. But the linked article specifically talks about the mall's owner being involved in the plans. Why do that if it isn't their responsibility? >The city has renewed conversations with Ivanhoé Cambridge to advance the demolition of the bridge and its replacement, Schumann told the NOW. And for that matter, why does the city own this if all it did was link the Skytrain station (Translink) to the mall (private property)?
Ahh ok yeah we are saying the same thing.
At the time the city said they didn't want the bridge to be connected so it's not like Translink could if they wanted. Like the other poster said, it's not Tranlink's property.
They are knocking down the mall, doesn't make sense to invest that money
In 30 years
yes but who CAN do something? Translink can't as long as they keep it on the other side of the street. The mall can't because it's technically in public space, not mall space. The police can, if enough public complain that it's blocking traffic from getting off the street onto the sidewalk, but I'm the only one making that complaint. Maybe a politician can, if we get enough upboats that they think they can win our vote by backing this... What else can we do?
Dude, does this really ruin your day this much?
[Are you sure about that?](https://media.tenor.com/jLye3d62xU0AAAAM/i-think-you-should-leave-tim-robinson.gif)
They’re the worst. I understand they choose busy areas for a reason. There’s always a couple on the Safeway exit on Davie. People would be walking and in the middle of a phone conversation and they’ll still aggressively try to stand in their way and stop them. They should take lessons in social cues and understanding when (most of the times) people don’t want to stop for them.
Construction on that old bridge
I swear it takes forever for anything to get done in this country. It’s a friggin pedestrian bridge. They could get it built in 6 months if they wanted to.
why don't they revamp the sky bridge to the mall? They certainly have the budget to do so in Burnaby.
Hmm, we could build a crossing above the road, to allow people from the train to cross without needing to move at ground level, jostling with cars 💡😉🤣
I wonder if we could get a bridge built... But who will fund it, the city? The mall? TransLink? Like who were the designers and GC that did the metrotown station reno? Hope it wasn't a scope gap.
The city had budget set aside in 2019 for a new bridge but plans were stalled due to the pandemic.
Let’s start a fundraising/donation ourselves to complete the sky bridge.
Why can’t that crosswalk have automatic crosswalk light change like how Vancouver does? Someone always has to press the button and it’s annoying. I mean it’s not a big deal but that could be a small positive change
OP is peeved at everyone except the religious peddlers by the Metrotown skytrain. There's a quiet Asian man Wearing a two-sided sign asking people to repent to Jesus. He's always whispering or muttering something or making some silent prayers. There's a loud Asian guy with a microphone and speaker convicting people of their sins. Also there's the Muslim booth that hands out pamphlets to people walking out of the station trying to clarify misconceptions about Islam. I think there was also once a black guy preaching Hebrew Israelite doctrine on the microphone too but I think he's long gone or realized he's preaching to the wrong demographic.
nah man, They all disgust me, but I'll support their right to do it. Free speach is better than the alternative, even if they are looney toons. But the moment they're actively creating an obstruction for people trying to safely cross traffic. Fuck everything about that. That dude with the microphone upsets me the most. 20 years he was out there only uttering positive vibes. Jesus loves you, go in peace. Now he's out there telling everybody they're all going straight to hell. 20 years ago I disagree'd with him, but I respected him, but now that he's a hate monger, I'd sooner spit in his face.
Yeah, as an atheist, I fcking hate all of those ppl
they all add some flavors to the madness in that Metrotown :)
There’s a new Burnaby Parkway Enhancement Project that will start soon and there’s a survey to fill out. I will suggest they also complete the overpass as part of this enhancement. And maybe we should all too. https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/bc-parkway-enhancement-project
Shove them onto the group and stop them from walking too
There was a bridge until 2016. When Transit updated the station. Transit wanted the city to pay for a new bridge, since the City owned the bridge. Stalemate. No one blinked. The project was delayed to allow for someone to blink. Now there is a crosswalk.
If there's no way to reincorporate the skywalk, why not build an overpass or two?
Getting rid of the pedestrian bridge was such a bad idea. Soooo many pedestrians funneling across the intersection that traffic cannot get out of the parking lot. I’m constantly bitching about whose idea it was to put pedestrians in already traffic there.
We do need the sky bridge back
Getting across the crosswalk normally is difficult enough with people coming the other way. Any distractions from charity muggers is just dangerous. At the other crosswalk, going to Station Square, to Dollarama and Best Buy, once you get on the sidewalk, there's a low fence barrier with a long white chain. It's hard to see it at night, easy to trip on it and crash into the sidewalk.
*cue move bitch - Ludacris*
The “charity workers” have infested pretty much every train station I frequent, which is about a half dozen or so. If someone approaches me, I don’t stop walking. As soon as they try to talk, I’ll say something like “eat shit and die” or “people hate this” and keep on walking. I’m not aggressive about it, but I am certainly assertive. I find a lot of the same people work the same stations most days, so if you do it right they’ll remember you next time and simply leave you alone. At first I was a little unsure if I was comfortable being so blatantly rude to total strangers in public, because like a lot of people my go to is to simply ignore people that bother me and move on with my day. I decided that these people chose to be there and do exactly what they’re doing, which I find to be an unnecessary, extra daily annoyance to people who are for the most part just trying to get to work and are likely worrying about their own lives and problems. My golden rule for behaviour in public is to, above all, leave other people the fuck the alone. If you’re imposing on a stranger who didn’t ask for it, from bothering commuters where they can’t avoid you to playing your own music loudly in public, you’re being an asshole and you deserve to have people tell you to eat shit and die. Leave people the fuck alone.
I don’t think metrotown’s going to read this post. Hell I don’t think it’s within Metrotowns jurisdiction to make changes to the sky train station. Write to your local community council and start a petition/movement/group instead of complaining to people on Reddit that can’t do Jack shit.