It's no longer just a pedestrian problem. It's instead a public transit inconvenience, with schedules delayed and frustrations rising. The endless curb extensions and narrowed lanes transform bus stops into bottlenecks, and traffic calming (yet again) undermines every commute.
Research on curb extensions has found measurable effects on vehicle operations. A 2026 study of 94 intersections with these traffic calming measures revealed that they projected 7–11 feet into the roadway and were approximately 45 feet long—roughly the length of two parking spaces. At a typical treated intersection, the extension narrowed the roadway for one of three through movements and reduced the turning radius for two of six turning movements.
That matters greatly for buses - because they need considerably more maneuvering room than passenger cars. FHWA specifically warns that traffic-calming measures involving street-width reductions and horizontal deflections constrain transit vehicles and leave them unable to properly navigate, which can impact commute times and undermine schedules. Bottlenecking becomes, unfortunately, all too common.
Additionally, forcing alternative route selections for buses (when full-closure methods are implemented) can generate up to 10 minutes of travel time per trip; and removing dedicated HOV lanes to make way for cycling paths can create delays of up to 20 seconds per kilometre.
Where, precisely, is the advantage we were promised?
With the continued presence of traffic calming measures on East Vancouver, public transit will see an increase in inconvenience - and a decrease in everyday functionality.
Sources
Guerra, Hu & Ben-Amos (2026), “The Effects of Curb Extensions on Traffic Crashes and Injuries,” Transportation Research Record.
Federal Highway Administration, Traffic Calming ePrimer — Module 5: Transit.
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives.
