June 10, 2016

Go Arbutus, Go Greenway

We may have the chance to use the Arbutus Greenway sooner than I had thought.  Watch out, though, for crews along the way.

Mayor Robertson says, in an e-mail newsletter:

Arbutus Greenway
Construction work to remove the rail tracks on the Arbutus corridor has begun and will work from the north to the south end of the corridor over the next several months at the rate of about one kilometer per week. The City will be following behind the removal crew with asphalt paving to create a temporary pathway, allowing people to walk, cycle and experience the corridor throughout construction.

From Facebook:

The first spike was removed today as construction started on the North end of the Arbutus Corridor. CP will remove a total of 809 tons/53,962 feet of rail and the City will remove rail at 39 street & 5 lane crossings along the corridor

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverMayorsOffice/videos/1125921544132404/

And CoV’s website says:

Please avoid construction zones

The first important step toward building a new green transportation corridor for the future is getting under way with the start of the removal of train rails and ties.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) is responsible for all rail removal along the corridor, with the exception of street crossings, as part of our land purchase agreement announced in March 2016. We are responsible for removing the rails at street crossings.

Canadian Pacific estimates their rail removal work, which is starting at the north end during the week of June 6, 2016, will proceed at the rate of about one kilometer per week.

Rail removal will be completed using heavy equipment. Work will take place during permitted construction hours. Temporary fencing and construction signage will define the areas under construction.

The removal of the rails and ties must be completed before any of our construction work can begin on the greenway. It is expected that all rail removal work will be complete by the end of 2016.

Here’s a video of the existing Arbutus Greenway:

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Comments

  1. So the west side of Vancouver gets a massively expensive bike and walking path with no benefit other than the crème de la crème who live in the area, Thomas? A former transit route that would work for only the physically fit and wealthy…Yes, that certainly serves the public interest with the millions of dolllars spent by the city. Perhaps, an elevated SkyTrain line would serve the public interest better then? Or are only pedestrians and the minority of people who bike are the winners?

    1. The majority of people ride a bike and would ride more when safe paths like Arbutus. Cycling is not only for people that are fit. It is a low impact activity that requires little physical effort especially on routes like Arbutus that have low grades. Plus electric bikes help those with physical challenges. Bike paths also work great for those using wheelchairs.

    2. There are many potential winners with the City acquisition of the CP right of way.

      The Broadway subway can now terminate at a UBC bus loop at 16th and Arbutus or emerge as an above grade line down the 16th Street Boulevard to UBC.

      Broadway commercial from Arbutus to Alma can be protected from redevelopment.

      The Arbutus Line can become a greenway.

      1. Richard: the majority of people ride bikes??? What city do you live in?
        Jolson: SkyTrain can not run at grade as it is third rail and has to be isolated from the roadway, pedestrians and animals-and bikes.

        1. I think what Richard might have meant was that a majority of people want to ride bikes but most currently don’t because of fear of motor traffic.
          Here’s the (now famous) study that first recognized it but it has since been shown to be universal.
          https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/264746

          33% are not interested making 68% who want to cycle for their short trips but currently only 8% do. That leaves 60% of the population who currently don’t cycle but want to. That’s a lot of people who are only recently starting to be served.

          Cycling is an inherently safe activity. It once was available to everyone regardless of confidence level but as motor traffic and the design of our streets changed over the years, it was pushed out of the way (along with other modes) and marginalized to the point where now only some do it.

          The desire to cycle is widespread among the population.

        2. Already, 10% of commute trips by Vancouver residents are by bike. This is probably close to the highest cycling mode share for a large city in North America. Also, cycling is the most rapidly growing transportation mode. Arbutus Corridor will allow even more people to experience the joy of cycling. I predict that the path will be made too narrow and that a cycling path of at least 5m in width will be required to accommodate cycling volumes.

      1. Thomas, you always talk of being concerned about tax monies. You realize that subways are incredibly expensive to build, maintain, secure and require a very high maintenance cost over the years, as well as a duplicate bus system above to cover the areas that the subway does not service between widely separated stations. So not only more expensive an asset but duplicates a transit service. Check on how Washington, DC is doing, or the tunnelling in Seattle or Ottawa. But then with only seven SkyTrain lines in the world, we have to be different from the rest of the world from the French/German grade separated grass covered LRT routes which just happen to have bike and walking paths beside them serving neighbourhoods rather than separated stations too far apart. Ask anyone who is between stations on the non-SkyTrain, Canada Line on Cambie how convenient that is for them, especially if aged or physically challenged. LRT would have been cheaper, more neighbourhood friendly and saved a duplication of transit services. And many businesses would still be in business. Then tell me how an incredibly expensive subway to Arbutus solves the issue of getting students to UBC from Broadway and Commercial. Very good for the developers, not so much for the travelling public….

        1. Land has value. The higher the density the higher the value. As such we should not use it for ugly, noisy and neighborhood separating LRT lines. A subway is an excellent investment as it lasts 200+ years and allows far higher density on the surface with tremendous add’l property taxes and consumption taxes. It is a very worthwhile investment. Indeed to end the Broadway line at Arbutus shows me how disconnected the Mayor and the entire Mayors’ Council is from reality. They should all resign or be replaced.

          Look at the ugly 7th Ave corridor in Calgary downtown with two tracks for the LRT and noting else. 0 street life or commercial value. Or the mess in Edmonton with their numerous utterly misdesigned LRT crossings on the new line towards NAIT, by UofA or even 51st Ave. Never EVER build an LRT in dense cities. OK further out, say Langley – Surrey but even that will, in time, densify and a subway would be far FAR better !

          UBC Broadway line could go above ground west of Blanca through the forest / parallel to golf course.Then underground by Block F as it enters UBC again, then continuing eventually to Wesbrook Village south of 16th. But: UBC hasn’t even designed Wesbrook Mall for a second station near Wesbrook Village. Ignorance and lack of vision abounds in MetroVan. But hey, a few more bike lanes will suffice.

  2. I’m a fan of lateral thinkers like Rory Sutherland who relates how, when engineers were asked how to improve the Eurostar trip between London and Paris, came up with a 6 billion dollar solution, which would shave 40 mins. off the trip.

    Rory’s idea was that it would be better to spend a lot less by hiring supermodels to give out free Château Petrus. No one would want the trip to stop.

    In a similar vein, there’s a Pub Tram in Helsinki. If you ever have cause to go to Finland, odds are, like most tourists, you’ll climb on board.

    This should be part of the Arbutus experience – not just transportation, but tourism. That would also have been a star tourist attraction on the Steveston Tram. A pox on those who destroyed that tram.

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