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Part One: Introduction

Part Three: Living
in Vancouver

Part Four: City
Government and
Public Participation

Getting Around

Walking

The City of Vancouver encourages people to get around by walking as much as possible. Unlike many cities in North America, Vancouver has no highways cutting through the city. It is possible to walk almost anywhere in Vancouver and the many parks and tree-lined streets make walking a pleasure.

While it’s always important to pay attention to traffic and follow signs for pedestrian crossings, it’s especially important at night and in rainy weather when motorists can have difficulty seeing people on foot crossing the street. It’s a good idea to wear reflective clothing or carry a flashlight when walking on dark streets at night.

It is illegal – and dangerous – to walk across a street anywhere but at an intersection. Crossing in the middle of the street – or jaywalking – is against the law in Vancouver.

Cycling

The City of Vancouver has developed an extensive system of bikeways for cyclists in the city. The Cycling in Vancouver map has information on bicycling and the best ways to cycle to any part of the city. You can pick up the map from City Hall, or by calling the City’s Bicycle Hotline (Tel: 604-871-6070). Maps are also available at Vancouver libraries, community centres and some bicycle stores.

Public Transit

TransLink, a local transportation authority, provides an integrated public transportation system of buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and the West Coast Express, a commuter rail service. Riders can use the same tickets for different modes of travel in the system and buy books of tickets and passes. Riders need to have exact change to pay for bus fare. Schedules are available in Vancouver Public Library branches, at City Hall, as well as information booths at some shopping malls. For schedule information, call 604-521-0400. Also check TransLink website: www.translink.bc.ca.

Driving a Vehicle

You must have a valid BC driver’s licence to drive a car or other motor vehicle in Vancouver. The Province of BC is responsible for licenses, insurance, speed limits and road safety. For more information, contact the Driver Service Centres in the Lower Mainland. Their telephone numbers are listed in the White Pages of the telephone book under “ICBC”. For accident claims, call the Accident Claim Centres in Vancouver, also listed in the telephone book. You can also check the ICBC’s website at:www.icbc.com.

Emergency Vehicles

When a police car, fire truck or ambulance has its lights and siren on, you must get out of the way as quickly and safely as you can. Move your car to the right lane, and stop until the emergency vehicle has passed you.

Speed Limits

The speed limit on all Vancouver roads is 50 kilo-metres per hour (km/h), unless you see a sign for another speed. The speed limit on lanes behind houses and buildings is 20 km/h. Any park or school area has a speed limit of 30 km/h to keep children safe. Vancouver Police give out tickets with heavy fines for people who go over the speed limits in the city.

Street parking

Never block a fire hydrant, a bus stop, a cross-walk, a road, an alley or a driveway when you park. Make sure you pay parking meters, or you can be fined. Parking meters operate every day of the week, from 9:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night.

Residents Parking Only and Residents Permit Parking

Around some homes there are signs which say Resident Parking Only. This means that the street parking is intended for people who live on that block or in that area. If you are not a resident and park your car in that area, you may get a ticket. If you see the sign Residents Permit Parking, you will need to display a special permit from the City to park your car in that area. Cars with no permit can be ticketed. For more information, call Residential Parking Permits (Tel: 604-873-7338).

Cars in your neighbourhood

If you feel that too many cars are using your street or that drivers are going too fast, you can ask for changes that will force drivers to go more slowly or keep them from your street when main roads are busy. These changes are called “traffic calming”. Call 604-873-7130 for a Traffic Calming Toolkit or talk to staff about traffic calming in your neighbourhood.

Transportation for people with disabilities

Vancouver has special buses and sidewalk ramps to make it easy for people with disabilities to get around. TransLink’s handyDART service has small buses that are easy for people in wheelchairs to use. HandyDART buses pick people up at their homes and take them where they want to go. Call the handyDART (Tel: 604-430-2692) for more information.

About 60% of Vancouver’s curbed streets and lane corners have curb ramps to make it easy for people in wheelchairs to cross the street and get back on the sidewalk on the other side. To inquire about curb ramps, call the City’s Engineering Department (Tel: 604-871-6131).

For more information about accessibility for people with disabilities, call the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (Tel: 604-875-0188).

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Schools and
Education

Comments or questions? Send us e-mail at baldwin.wong@vancouver.ca.

© 2002, City of Vancouver, Community Services, Social Planning
Last Modified: Thursday, January 31, 2002