While we impatiently await the major design material due in the fall, I’m sort of getting a better sense of what parts of the Greenway might look like. And it certainly is a strangely wonderful experience to travel on it. Moving significantly long north-south distances amid greenery and in comfort, quiet and safety — it’s all a bit disorienting.
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If planting a relatively large area, hydroseeding can be completed in a very short period of time. It can be very effective for hillsides and sloping lawns to help with erosion control and quick planting. Hydroseeding will typically cost less than planting with sod, but more than broadcast seeding. Results are often quick with high germination rates producing grass growth in about a week and mowing maintenance beginning around 3 to 4 weeks from the date of application. Fiber mulch accelerates the growing process by maintaining moisture around the seeds thereby increasing the rate of germination.
You might want to look at the Richmond portion of the same abandoned CPR right of way that bisects Lulu Island from the north arm of the Fraser River to Steveston. Richmond bought it in about 2009 and have developed it as a multi-user path. It is quite well done in most parts. Richmond also owns additional rights of way parallel on both sides of the old railway line. One is Railway Avenue– a street– and the other is totally undeveloped, so the entire corridor is much wider than Vancouver’s.