Vancouver is getting a major Skytrain extension, a rapid transit line through the second-largest employment corridor in the Province of BC. It’s the Broadway corridor.
In preparation, the City of Vancouver is working on a plan for this corridor, and you can get in on the process. Remember, you’ll get your say, but not a veto. Not, that is, until you elect Ken Sim (or his replacement) and the NPA into control of council, provided, of course, that you live somewhere in the vicinity of the area.
Open House Events
CityLab, 511 W Broadway (at Cambie Street)
- Thursday, March 7, 3-7pm
- Friday, March 8, 3-7pm
- Saturday, March 9, 12 noon – 4pm
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, 2305 W 7th Avenue (at Vine Street)
- Wednesday, March 13, 3-7pm
Kingsgate Mall, 370 E Broadway (at Kingsway)
- Thursday, March 14, 3-7pm
So Far, We Have This
The plan will address the need for:
Increased job space
Deepening housing affordability
Minimizing displacement
New or improved connections
Improved parks and public spaces
New and renewed public amenities
I just learned that the new skytrain line will not run on Broadway between Commercial and Main. Instead it will sweep North to Great Northern Way to accommodate the new campuses. What will happen to the area of Broadway between Main and Commercial? Will it become a transit deadzone? To get from Main to Commercial you’ll have to transfer to a bus…? Poor Fraser Street; no shiny new transit for you.
To be fair, the line already swept north to Great Northern Way. It is being extended, so that is where the Broadway extension starts from, at VCC Clark station.
If one is going from Main to Commercial just stay on the subway, it will get there. If one is going from Broadway and Glen to a subway station, either walk back to Commercial or walk north to the VCC Clark station. Same at Fraser, there is a station planned around there at Emily Carr, albeit at the bottom of a steep hill.
This is actually a really interesting point that I hadn’t considered. For all B-Line stops between Commercial–Broadway and Arbutus, the new Millennium Line Broadway Extension will replace those stops. Except the two stops on Broadway at Fraser and Clark. I’m curious to know what the service level replacement will look like for this area in the future.
Page 7 today Vancouver Sun
7th avenue cut & cover from Commercial to Glen then 8th to Arbutus with access to both sides of Broadway would save a bundle & better for most people——- Fair compensation for the few hundred people (construction) affected would be chump change compared to the cost savings—- 9k cut & cover plus another 9 k of elevated Canada line cost 2.4 billion in spite of need to cross the fraser & under false creek & roads with heavy traffic
While the intersection of Broadway and Granville is dug up and a major mess for a year or 2, we might as well make Granville all the way from 6th to 16th a pedestrian zone and put the cars in a tunnel as it exits the bridge heading south. This would be a real gem for Vancouver ! W- Georgia then too should be made into a pedestrian zone and cars sent into a tunnel.
Missing also is a subway from Burrard station of SkyTrain under Burrard to connect with UBC Line at Arbutus or better, Granville.
Agree — loop Burrard station ( & west downtown) with Broadway –The Expo & Canada lines are already near capacity from Broadway to Downtown—– At least a turn for that future link
Need to reserve ROW s under Gas station & ST Pauls redevelopments for a north west turn from burrard street
Granville is a provincial highway and a major entrance into Downtown. Reducing Granville Bridge to 8 lanes is controversial enough, blocking it off entirely is political suicide. Not to mention that’s imposssible when the Province owns Granville (99 would have to be rerouted to maintain continuity)
Hwy 99 is a numbered BC highway, but it is under the jurisdiction of the City of Vancouver, from the south end of the Stanley Park Causeway (at Chilco St) to the north end of the Oak St Bridge. See the MoTI info on the BC Government website itemizing numbered highway routes.
There isn’t a plan to reduce Granville Bridge to 8 lanes, it is 8 lanes now. There is a proposal to reduce it from 8 lanes. Based on peak hour traffic, two lanes are required in each direction. That may mean leaving 6 (narrowed) lanes so as to accommodate maintenance work, etc.