Pacific Metropolis

The Streetcar Rolls On

The latest word on the Vancouver Streetcar is that preliminary work is continuing on Phase 0, the proposed stretch between Science World and Granville Island.

(Click map for a larger image)

According to this article from the Vancouver Courier, a local engineering firm called HMM has been chosen to work on the detailed design plans for the project.

Among the new details to emerge - Vancouver's streetcar will run on a planted (grass) median, rather than a paved one.

It also sounds like the Downtown Historic Streetcar will still continue to operate on this First Avenue stretch of tracks, even after the new system is in place.

Funding remains a question mark, however, as the $60 million required for the Science World-Granville Island stretch still hasn't been committed by the provincial or federal governments.

It will cost an estimated $100 million to continue the line on to Waterfront Station, and another $20 million to bring it all the way out to Stanley Park.

Extravagent Tree Fort Slated for QE Park

Apparently a plan is afoot to erect a giant viewing deck in Queen Elizabeth Park, as a means of reinstating the long-lost view of the city.

Stupid trees, nature.

If the Parks Board approves the project, the owners of the 150-foot tower plan to market it as the highest spot in Vancouver, charging somewhere around $10 a head for tourists to go up and gawk at the city.

Predictably, the NIMBYs don't like this thing one bit.

As for the rest of us, from the early feedback we've heard, the new platform looks a little too George Jetson for some, and not Calatrava enough.

Judging by the renderings, we'd have to agree - frankly, it's reminiscent of Troy McClure's house. ("It's so modern, it's ultra-modern").

While we applaud the creativity, it's probably better to take a pass on this one.

The Sun has more details on the proposal here.

Disaggregating Gateway II

If the aim of the Gateway project is to improve Vancouver's position as Canada's 'gateway' for goods from across the Pacific Rim, why are we being told that the widening of the Trans Canada Highway and twinning of the Port Mann Bridge are essential?

This seems misleading, since the vast majority of containerized cargo that is off-loaded in Vancouver is shipped out of our region by rail, not by truck - rail is much more efficient over long distances, and most cargo winds up going outside of BC to the population centres of eastern Canada and the US.

(Click map for a larger version).

If the aim is to improve the efficiency of our port system, it would therefore make the most sense to improve road connections between the ports and railyards.

Indeed, the Gateway project's South Fraser Perimeter Road will do a good job of connecting Deltaport with key CN and CP intermodal railyards located on the south side of the Port Mann Bridge, while CP also operates a major railyard at the Port of Vancouver.

So with relatively little container traffic heading for the Port Mann, why should we twin it?

Rather than going ahead with a strategy that we know will offer relativly little benefit to the trucking industry, and instead promote greater reliance on automobiles, the first option should be to encourage greater population density - a strategy that we know works well from our own experience, wherever we've built new transit lines.

As part of his argument in favour of a widened Trans Canada highway, Kevin Falcon is promising that new roads will lead to rising property values for his constituents.

However, the promise of commuter rail would likely do just as much, if not more for people out in Surrey and Langley - just look at what's happened to property values in communities located along the West Coast Express line, or in Richmond, along the Canada Line route.

It's clear that improved public transit should be the first option, while expanding the freeway should be the last. Unfortunately, Kevin Falcon has it completely backwards.

His approach isn't exactly helping the trucking industry either - Gateway is fast becoming a dirty word among Lower Mainland residents, who would rather not see more urban sprawl in their region.

Fortunately, this doesn't have to be the case, if we could simply remove the most controversial segment from the project.

Since the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge would have such a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of many of us, this is one issue that's worth calling or emailing your MLA about.

You can find out how to contact yours here.

Disaggregating Gateway I

Vancouver's business community, headed up by the trucking industry, has started to rachet up the rhetoric in support of the Gateway project, as evidenced by this article from last weekend's Province.

As we mentioned in our own piece from a little more than a year ago, Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon (MLA Surrey-Cloverdale) has cleverly packaged the entire Gateway program as a single project, thus giving its most controversial elements - the widening of the Trans Canada Highway and twinning of the Port Mann Bridge - a better chance of gaining approval.

While it's clear that Mr. Falcon's constituents might see short-term benefits from the expanded freeway, decades of experience in other cities shows that widening freeways does not reduce traffic congestion over the long term.

Even worse, it typically leads to more ugly, urban sprawl.

Consider New York City - since the 1930s, seven bridges have been built between Manhattan/the Bronx and Long Island, each with the stated aim of reducing traffic.

The net result? Traffic has only grown over the years, as Long Island suburbs have extended eastward, creating a wasteland of strip malls and endless suburbia. Traffic congestion at bridge and tunnel crossings has only expanded.

Over the long term, this is the same future that Mr. Falcon's 'vision' will deliver to his constituents.

In our next post, we'll consider how we can improve on Gateway, while still building the roads that the trucking industry needs to move freight around the Lower Mainland. 

Convention Centre Update

No news to report, although we did come across a few new photos of the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion project, plus a recent video as well.

The first photo is from the project's main webcam (click for a larger version).

This second photo is from the main contractor's site, PCL Constructors.

And finally, the following video was shot in April 2007.

Late Update: it turns out there is some news to report on the convention centre project.

According to this article from today's Sun, there are now 54 events booked at the VCC for 2009 and beyond, which will add an estimated $1.1 billion to the BC economy.

Of those events, 28 would not have occurred without the added space of the expanded facilities.

The Coast Coal Harbour Hotel

Located in the heart of Triangle West, and just steps away from the new Vancouver Convention Centre, Coast Hotels has just announced a new $60 million hotel development, which aims to be ready in time for the 2010 Olympics.

The 19-storey, 220 room hotel is scheduled to open by the fall of 2009, which will hopefully leave enough time for the doormen and housekeeping staff to learn how to find their way around the building.

According to the Sun's write-up on the project, the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel will be the fourth new hotel to open up in Vancouver, between now and the Olympics.

The other three include the Loden, the Shangri-La, and the Fairmont Pacific Rim. We'd add the renovated Hotel Georgia, which will also be racing to open in time for the Games.

For more information on this rather ho-hum project, check out the Development Permit Staff Committee Report here (link to pdf).

Golden Ears Bridge

As one of the top 10 non-residential construction projects currently underway in the GVRD, the Golden Ears Bridge reached a milestone a couple of weeks ago, with the completion of the structure's deep foundations.

Scheduled to open in June 2009, the six-lane bridge is expected to cost $800 million to build, up from earlier estimates that had put it at $650 million.

Once it's finished, the bridge will see as many as 20 million vehicle crossings per year by 2012, with motorists paying tolls of $2.85 per car and $8.55 for large trucks, at least when it initially opens - no doubt they'll go up.

The construction and management of the bridge is being carried out through a public-private partnership deal, which lasts until 2041.

On the positive side, Translink estimates that travel times across the Fraser will be reduced by 20 to 30 minutes, while it should also alleviate some traffic that currently crosses the Port Mann Bridge.

The Golden Ears Bridge is also expected to spur residential and commercial development in both Langley and Maple Ridge, two of the GVRD's eight Regional Town Centres.

For more information about the bridge, check out Translink's website here. The official project website can be found here.

Northeast False Creek - up for review

According to this planning document (link to pdf), the City of Vancouver is about to undertake a major review of the Northeast False Creek neighbourhood, covering the area from the Cambie Street Bridge to Quebec Street.

 

Among the parcels of land that will be up for discussion are the Plaza of Nations complex, as well as the BC Place Stadium site.

Planners caution, however, that their only intention is to consider a range of options for the land on which BC Place sits, while the provincial government still makes up its mind about the stadium's future (which won't occur before the study is completed).

All options appear to be on the table, from leaving the stadium as it is, to 'reconfiguring' it, or removing it entirely.

In addition to looking at future land use in the neighbourhood, the study will also examine pedestrian, bicycle and transit routes (ie the Downtown Streetcar) for the area.

Interestingly, the City also mentions that it will look at 'the possible removal of a portion of the viaducts when considering form of development and transportation options.'

The study is expected to take about twelve months to complete, after which a report will be presented to City Council by May 2008.

If you're curious about what one of the major landowners in the area has in mind, it might be worthwhile to stop by the new Concord Pacific presentation centre, which recently set up shop in a new location, according to this promo video from the Real Estate Channel.

Pacific Boulevard Redesign

Via Pricetags: construction work is underway on phase one of the Pacific Boulevard re-design.

(Click photo for a larger version).

Stretching from the Burrard Street Bridge to the Cambie Street Bridge, the entire project aims to turn the busy thoroughfare into one of Vancouver's 'great streets', which planners expect will transform it into a 'preeminent pedestrian promenade.'

They hope to accomplish this through the addition of a tree-lined median down the centre of the boulevard, along with a narrower side-street running parrell to the primary four-lane road. The side-street will be used by local traffic and for parking.

 

Besides adding more greenery to the boulevard, new bike lanes will also be built, plus space will be set aside for the eventual extension of the Vancouver streetcar.

The quieter atmosphere of the secondary roads is designed to make the area more pedestrian-friendly, as it will slow traffic and make the street more walkable, while it should also be easier for people to cross the wider sections of Pacific Boulevard.

Phase one is currently being installed along the stretch of Pacific Boulevard between Howe Street and the Granville Street Bridge. Later stages call for the creation of a neighbourhood high street, through the heart of Yaletown, between Cambie and Howe.

For more information, check out the 2002 City of Vancouver Policy Report here (link to pdf).

The cycling people do a more colourful job of presenting the details on their website here.