White Rock Pier crosswalk: TrafficPatternsXD at the waterfront

White Rock reopened the Pier over the Labour Day long weekend, and as part of the upgrades, we installed a new TrafficPatternsXD™ decorative crosswalk at the pier approach.

The White Rock Pier is one of the most heavily used waterfront promenades in the Lower Mainland. Seasonal foot traffic is intense, with families, cyclists and dog walkers converging on the same relatively narrow coastal approach. The crosswalk at this location needs to function as a genuine traffic safety element, not just an aesthetic feature.

What the photograph shows

The lede photograph looks across the crossing toward the water. A brick pattern in a muted red runs between two white borders, from the roadway to the Memorial Park sign and the line of black bollards along the promenade; beyond them the pier runs out over the sand at low tide, with the flag and the park clock at the left of the frame. It is a plain composition: brick, white edge, sea, and the crossing reads as part of the waterfront rather than a marking laid on top of it. The project record holds a second frame from the pier side.

Why TrafficPatternsXD for high-traffic locations

TrafficPatternsXD is our specification for crosswalks with elevated wear demands. The XD designation indicates a harder-wearing material: the same pre-cut thermoplastic sheets and the same corundum aggregate options for traction, but with additional abrasion resistance built into the material.

At the White Rock Pier, we recommended XD over the standard TrafficPatterns™ line because the surface would be subject to concentrated pedestrian loads during summer weekends, plus the salt-spray and UV conditions common to foreshore BC locations.

The install is a direct torch-and-fuse process. The crew heats the asphalt substrate, positions the pre-cut sheets, and torches through (the thermoplastic bonds into the road surface rather than sitting on top of it), and the crossing is ready for foot and vehicle traffic once it has cooled.

The system

Square One installs TrafficPatternsXD beside StreetPrint® as the heavy-duty kind of stamped asphalt. The manufacturer's published facts: an aggregate-reinforced preformed thermoplastic, heated and stamped into the top layer of prepared asphalt; 150 mil thick against 125 mil for standard TrafficPatterns; new anti-skid elements exposed as the surface wears; the same patterns, borders and colours as TrafficPatterns; fast installation with minimal traffic downtime. The manufacturer positions it for major intersections, transit hubs and high-volume pedestrian zones. The TrafficPatternsXD product page carries the specification.

The renovation context

The White Rock Pier renovation was a major civic project, and the crosswalk is the gateway to a landmark the city takes seriously. The finished installation matches the character of the upgraded waterfront: clean, considered, built to last.

White Rock has come back to the same material since. Our record holds a shoreline crossing on the promenade in TrafficPatternsXD and, in spring 2025, an artist-designed crossing in downtown White Rock with waves, sand and sky in custom TrafficPatterns.

For a waterfront or civic gateway

• Specify for the off-season too. A foreshore crossing takes salt air and winter as well as summer crowds; the XD sheet is built for the abrasion, and its anti-skid elements run through the material rather than sitting on top.
• Tie the pattern to the streetscape. A brick field with a white border at the pier sits easily with the promenade furniture; a pattern chosen to match the paving reads as designed rather than added.
• Book the crossing into the opening. Installation is quick and closures are short, so a crossing can go in during the last days before a reopening rather than months ahead of it.

If you're planning crosswalk improvements as part of a waterfront or high-pedestrian civic upgrade, send a photo of the crossing and a postal code to office@squareonepaving.com, call 604-612-6209, or use the contact form. We come out, look, and put a written quote together.