Guildford Way: Coquitlam’s New Complete Street

Construction is now complete on the Guildford Way corridor from the Port Moody border to Pinetree Way, bringing meaningful safety and comfort improvements for everyone who travels this route while maintaining traffic capacity. The project strengthens access to key community destinations along the corridor—including schools, parks, recreation centres, Lafarge Lake–Douglas SkyTrain Station, and City Hall. These improvements make it easier for people to walk, roll, cycle, and connect to popular destinations in their community.

The work was delivered in two phases. Phase 1 used quick-build techniques such as pre-cast concrete curbs to efficiently protect the existing bike lane and introduce early improvements with minimal disruption. Phase 2 included a full corridor rebuild where space constraints and the prominence of the City Hall and SkyTrain areas called for a more robust and long-lasting treatment. Across both phases, ISL provided the functional and detailed design, supporting the City in developing a modern, people-focused complete street. Along the way, the project introduced several best-practice features—some of them firsts for Coquitlam and even the region— which are highlighted below.

Protected Intersections

One of the standout features of the Guildford Way project is the protected intersection at Pinetree Way, complete with bicycle signals and leading pedestrian and bicycle intervals. This design creates a safer and more intuitive experience for people walking, rolling, and cycling.

Protected intersections improve visibility, reduce conflict points, and support two-stage bicycle left turns, helping people move through the space more predictably. The design also widens crosswalks and shortens the crossing distances in some instances to support the high event-day crowds and pedestrian volumes generated by the SkyTrain station, local schools, and Town Centre Park.

Safety improvements extend beyond active transportation users. Protected left and right-turn phases for vehicles, along with no-right-turn-on-red restrictions, reduce vehicle-to-vehicle conflicts and help keep crosswalks clear.

Tactile Surfaces

The project also advances accessibility. Coquitlam is one of the first cities in the region to include directional tactile wayfinding at intersection curb ramps, helping guide people with sight loss safely across. These treatments represent an important step in ensuring the corridor is not only comfortable but inclusive and easy to navigate.

Tactile Surface at Island Platform Bus Stops

These tactile treatments were also applied at the island platform bus stops, directing people to the boarding area for the bus and reflecting recent TransLink design guidelines for island platform bus stops.

The bus stops themselves use a variety of island bus stop configurations depending on available space. Each layout is designed to manage conflicts between people boarding the bus and those passing by on a bicycle or other micromobility device.

Managing Stormwater

Thoughtful drainage design often goes unnoticed—but it makes a big difference in comfort and long-term performance. The raised bike lanes are sloped toward a mountable central curb that collects stormwater from both the sidewalk and the bike path. This approach eliminates the need for extensive roadway regrading or sidewalk reconstruction, keeps water where it belongs, and maintains clear separation between people walking and rolling. The vertical separation also helps encourage people to stay on their intended path of travel, reducing mixing between modes.

We look forward to seeing how the corridor enables more people in the community to get around using active modes of transportation. It sets a great example of modern, people-focused intersection and street design, and we hope it will inspire other jurisdictions as they shape their own complete streets.

Such complex projects always take a team, and many contributed to the design. We’d like to thank the City team for their vision in implementing these solutions, and our sub-consultant DMD & Associates Electrical Consultants Ltd. who provided the detailed design for the advanced signal operations.