Transportation

The Township of Langley takes pride in providing and maintaining transportation infrastructure for our community.

Frequently asked questions regarding crosswalks, parking, intersections, traffic signals, and traffic calming are below.

Crosswalks

Pedestrians are encouraged to follow standard practices before crossing the roadway, including:

Standing in a visible location
Wearing appropriate clothing to maximize visibility
Looking to confirm vehicles are coming to a stop
Making eye contact with the driver
Proceeding across the roadway in a straight direct manner

Crosswalks installation follows criteria outlined in the Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide published by the Transportation Association of Canada. This Guide contains a warrant procedure with minimum thresholds required prior to the installation of a crosswalk. The criteria includes: pedestrian volume, vehicle volume, speed limit, distance to another traffic control device, pedestrian crossing distance, available sight distance, pedestrian desire line and system connectivity.

What is an unmarked crosswalk?

The Motor Vehicle Act in British Columbia identifies all intersections as unmarked crosswalks if no separate signs or markings are present. Pedestrians at these locations have the right-of-way over vehicular traffic.

What types of crosswalks are there?

Crosswalk installations, depending on the pedestrian and vehicular volumes, can include:

Standard side-mounted signs and crosswalk markings
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) with signs and crosswalk markings
Overhead mounted signs and standard crosswalk markings
Overhead mounted signs with down lighting and pedestrian activated beacons and standard crosswalk markings (also called a special crosswalk)
Pedestrian signal

How can I request the review of a potential crosswalk location?

Submit location requests to enginfo@tol.ca. The Engineering Division will evaluate locations in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide. Implementation is subject to funding availability through the annual capital budget process.

Parking

Typically, parking is permitted on collector and local roads where sufficient space exists to accommodate the parking. Parking is not permitted on arterial roads. Parking may also be restricted around curves or other roadway features where parking would restrict available sightlines for drivers.

Why don’t all residential roads have parking on both sides?

A number of residential roadways were constructed to a width of 8.6 m. This allows for one parking lane (2.4 m) and two travel lanes (3.1 m).

Permitting parking on both sides of the roadway would reduce the roadway to one shared travel lane for both directions of traffic. The Fire Department also requires a minimum of 6.0 m of clear space for deployment in the event of an emergency. This is not accommodated with parking on both sides of an 8.6 m roadway.

The Township is developing a local roadway standard that allows for parking on both sides of the roadway to be utilized in new neighbourhood plans, though existing areas will not be retrofitted.

What are typical parking or stopping restrictions?

Typical parking restrictions are outlined in the Motor Vehicle Act as well as the Township Highway and Traffic Bylaw No. 4758 as follows:

Within 1 m or in front of a driveway
On a sidewalk
In an intersection or within 3 m of the end of a curb return
Within 8 m from an intersection on a roadway with no curbs
Within 5 m of a fire hydrant
Within 30 m before, or within 15 m beyond, the centre line of a marked crosswalk located mid-block between intersections
Within 6 m on the approach to a flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway
Within 6 m either side of the entrance or exit from a hotel, theatre, public meeting place, dance hall, fire hall, or playground in a rural area
Within 15 m of a railway crossing
Within 3.5 m of the centre of the roadway or in such a manner as to obstruct the free passage of traffic on the highway
On a paved shoulder or boulevard
Within 3 m of the entrance or exit to a lane
Within 5 m of a community mailbox
Within a distance of 21 m from the near side, or 8.5 m on the far side, of a sign for a bus stop
Where any sign or marking restricts parking

Can I prevent other people from parking in front of my house?

Parking is permitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parking in front of a property is not reserved for the residents of that property.

Does the Township have a resident-only parking program?

Resident-only parking programs, where only residents of a neighbourhood can park on designated streets, do not exist in the Township at this time. Some streets in the Murrayville area around Langley Memorial Hospital have two-hour parking limits, to prevent all-day parking by external parties. These areas were implemented following significant support from existing residents.

Intersections

Intersections include the following standard intersection controls:

T-Intersection
Two-way stop
All-way stop
Roundabout
Traffic signal

T-intersections and two-way stop controlled intersections have stop signs on the side street(s), with free flow on the main street. These intersections may upgrade to all-way stop controlled intersections where significant traffic volumes or higher frequencies of collision take place.

What criteria are required to implement an all way stop?

The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada, published by the Transportation Association of Canada outlines the criteria for upgrading to an all-way stop. These criteria include:

Traffic volume
Side street delay
Collision history

When are traffic signals or roundabouts installed?

Traffic signal installation follows a separate warrant procedure outlined by the Transportation Association of Canada based on traffic and pedestrian volumes, collision history and other factors. Roundabout installation in the Township follows similar conditions and installation typically takes place at collector/collector intersections. The Township does not have any multi-lane roundabout installations. Implementation of traffic signals or roundabouts are subject to funding availability through the annual capital budget process.

Traffic Signals

Traffic signals in the Township either “run free” or are coordinated together with upstream and downstream traffic signals on key corridors. Traffic signals that “run free” have a base amount of green time for each direction that may extend when additional vehicles approach the intersection.

Coordinated traffic signals use historical traffic counts on key corridors at peak periods of the day to determine optimal signal timing through dedicated software. The objective is to minimize overall delay by waiting vehicles. Vehicles on the side street may wait longer in an effort to reduce delay to main street traffic that carries more vehicles on it.

How do traffic signals detect vehicles?

The Township typically uses cameras to detect waiting vehicles. Vehicles must stop in the appropriate location behind the stop bar for detection. Some older intersections use inductive loops, in which case waiting vehicles must stop on top of the loop for detection. The Township does not record video from cameras used to detect vehicles.

How can I request a location for a traffic signal?

Submit location requests to enginfo@tol.ca. The Township will evaluate locations in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada published by the Transportation Association of Canada. Evaluation criteria include traffic and pedestrian volumes, intersection geometry, speed limit, vehicle-vehicle conflicts, vehicle-pedestrian conflicts, the vehicle delays for main road and side road, adjacent land use and collision history at the location as well as other factors. Implementation is subject to funding availability through the annual capital budget process.

Traffic calming

Traffic calming is a combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behaviour, and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. Previous completed projects have included speed humps, raised crosswalks, curb extensions and enhanced crosswalks.

Are there any local examples of traffic calming?

The Township has completed a number of traffic calming projects, including:

Aldergrove - 32 Avenue fronting Parkside Elementary School
Brookswood – 44 Avenue fronting Alice Brown Elementary (currently in process)
Fort Langley – Trattle Street fronting Langley Fine Arts School
Murrayville – 50 Avenue fronting Langley Fundamental Elementary School
Salmon River – 47 Avenue fronting Peterson Road Elementary School
Willoughby – 83 Avenue fronting Lynn Fripps Elementary School
Willowbrook – Willoughby Way fronting Langley Meadows Elementary School
Walnut Grove – 91A Avenue fronting Dorothy Peacock Elementary School

How can I request a location for traffic calming?

Submit written requests to the Engineering Division:

In-person at 20338 - 65 Avenue at Engineering counter,
Via e-mail to enginfo@tol.ca, or
Call the Engineering Division at 604-533-6006

What happens after I request a location for traffic calming?

The Township evaluates and prioritizes requests for implementation based on the criteria in the Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Policy (05-763), available on request from enginfo@tol.ca, including: speed, volume, accident crash history, pedestrian activity and so on. Implementation of traffic calming begins with top priority locations.

What is the typical process for a traffic calming project?

Township receives traffic calming request submissions.
Township evaluates project location.
Capital budget approval.
Affected property owners in the area receive an initial ballot to determine the level of support for traffic calming. A minimum of 67% support is required to proceed.
The Township will hold an open house for traffic calming, including the display of potential traffic calming options and opportunities for public input.
Depending on the level of support and community input received, there may be additional refinements and open houses, or construction may begin with notification of Township Council.

How many traffic calming locations does the Township complete each year?

The available budget determines the number of locations completed each year. Typically, one or two locations per year are completed.

Where else can I find information on traffic calming?

The Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Policy (05-763), available on request from enginfo@tol.ca, has more information on typical measures, process and prioritization criteria.

If traffic calming is not possible, what else can I do to address speeding on my street?

The Township of Langley supports a 3 E’s approach to speeding, including:

Education (Speedwatch)
Enforcement (RCMP)
Engineering (traffic calming)

To request enforcement on a particular roadway, please contact RCMP non-emergency at 604-532-3200. To volunteer with Speedwatch, and help educate drivers on their speed, please contact the Speedwatch coordinator at 604-888-0563.