The Cyclist's Guideto Vancouver's Downtown Transportation Plan |
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The Cyclist's Guideto Vancouver's Downtown Transportation Plan |
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The city held two open houses on this route, one in June 2003 and a second in December 2005. The route was approved by council in July 2006. Details from the open houses are available at the City website, and some of the later proposal diagrams are included below. The primary reference for the proposals is the staff report prepared for council prior to project approval.
This route provides a north-south connection across the "neck" of the peninsula and helps to complete the recreational bike loop around the Downtown and Stanley Park. It is also a part of the proposed Greenway network in downtown. Some parking will need to be removed from one or both sides of the street to accommodate the bike lanes. A connection over the existing rail tracks at the north end to connect to an east-west route along the Port Roadway should be provided. In the shorter term, a diversion over the Main Street Overpass may be necessary.
[DTP p. 98]
Design on this route is intended to be completed in 2006. City staff have also expressed a desire to complete at least part of the route in 2006, in time for the World Economic Forum. While the concept was approved in 2006, hopes for some construction prior to the WEF were not met.
Carrall has very light traffic volume, 0 to 5000 per day. The block from Pender to Hastings was slightly heavier, prior to the two-way conversion [DTP p. 44].
Between Cordova and Pender: [Carrall] is recommended for conversion from a one-way southbound to a two-way street. The current traffic volumes along this section of street can be accommodated with a two-way street. Carrall Street south of Pender Street is currently a two- way street and this proposal would extend it north to Cordova. It is not extended further to Powell Street and Water Street because it would make the already complex intersection at Maple Tree Square more complicated and less safe by introducing additional conflicts. In addition to providing better accessibility to the area, making Carrall Street two-way facilitates the creation of bike lanes in both directions.
[DTP p. 51]
The two-way conversion went ahead as planned in spring 2004. Initial construction was reported to have started in early 2007.
We now have VanMap stats since the two-way conversion.
| Intersection | Date recorded | Time | Direction | Left-turning vehicles | Through vehicles | Right-turning vehicles | Cyclists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expo | 2004.08.19 | am | northbound | 11 | 100 | 0 | 17 |
| southbound | 0 | 21 | 174 | 6 | |||
| pm | northbound | 10 | 78 | 0 | 11 | ||
| southbound | 0 | 50 | 167 | 28 | |||
| Keefer | 2004.08.11 | am | northbound | 5 | 53 | 48 | 15 |
| southbound | 35 | 163 | 17 | 8 | |||
| pm | northbound | 12 | 50 | 32 | 12 | ||
| southbound | 95 | 195 | 24 | 36 | |||
| Pender | 2004.07.14 | am | northbound | 6 | 23 | 12 | 12 |
| southbound | 6 | 168 | 173 | 13 | |||
| pm | northbound | 11 | 39 | 14 | 11 | ||
| southbound | 26 | 238 | 103 | 46 | |||
| Hastings | 2004.08.06 | am | northbound | 1 | 27 | 22 | 12 |
| pm | southbound | 4 | 123 | 4 | 7 | ||
| pm | northbound | 5 | 57 | 61 | 20 | ||
| pm | southbound | 43 | 222 | 11 | 21 | ||
| Cordova | 2004.11.18 | am | northbound | 0 | 0 | 54 | 6 |
| pm | southbound | 34 | 195 | 0 | 4 | ||
| pm | northbound | 0 | 0 | 75 | 7 | ||
| pm | southbound | 42 | 151 | 0 | 5 | ||
| Powell | 2004.07.06 | am | southbound | 0 | 13 | 20 | 4 |
| pm | southbound | 0 | 22 | 61 | 6 |
[VanMap]
No impact.
As a Greenway, Carrall will also be a central feature of the pedestrian network:
This street has been identified as a desirable `water to water' greenway that will cross the `neck' of the downtown peninsula. It links a series of parks, plazas and historic sites. It provides a visual connection to Chinatown via Pender Street and also links to the historic CPR right-of-way. At the northern end, the Carrall Street greenway will provide an improved pedestrian connection to the Port Lands via a future pedestrian overpass. On the southern end, an improved pedestrian link is proposed by providing signalized mid-block crossings of Expo and Pacific Boulevards. Pedestrian improvements may include the redesign of the street to include bike lanes, improved weather protection, increased landscaping treatment, slowing traffic (by converting to two-way from Pender to Hastings Street) and increased pedestrian safety and visibility through enhanced pedestrian lighting and textured crosswalks. Additional improvements could include redesigning the intersection of Carrall, Powell, Water and Alexander with raised crosswalks.
[DTP p. 88]
Carrall is inside the downtown truck area [DTP p. 106]. Carrall is a tour bus route between Pender and Keefer [DTP p. 110].
Parking will be removed from Carrall St. On the west side, parking will be removed from Keefer to Cordova, and on the east from Pender to Powell. [DTP p. 125]
The north end of Carrall, known as Maple Tree Square, is slated for a spot improvement:
52. Redesign the intersection of Water/Carrall /Powell /Alexander
The Issue: This is a complex intersection with some uncomfortable pedestrian crossings. In addition, a bike facility is required on Carrall across Water Street. The Gastown paving starts near Carrall Street but the historic area extends almost to Main Street. The street-ends north of Water Street vary in design quality, with the Carrall Street end being the best design. Businesses and residents complain about the speed of traffic on Water Street.
The Approach: Extending the pavement treatment further east, as well as providing a raised pedestrian table east of Carrall Street, would help set the tone for the rest of Water Street in terms of traffic speed. A redesign of the Water/Carrall intersection can improve pedestrian comfort and accommodate a bike route through the intersection. In addition, a raised intersection could be considered at Cambie and Water as part of the Cambie Street pedestrian arterial route.
[DTP p. 160]
The above diagram has one inconsistency: Carrall St. is shown as two-way, while other sections of the DTP claim it will remain one-way in that block. Design on this spot improvement will be completed before early 2006 if the city approves additional funding; the implementation schedule is unknown [DTP implementation plan].
The Carrall St. route is quite promising. In March 2005, city staff presented a vision for the street to the Bicycle Advisory Committee for comment. The committee approved of the designs, with the caveat that commuter cyclists' needs had not been addressed.
The design presented featured three sections: a "park zone" in the port lands, a "heritage zone" between Water St. and Keefer St., and a second "park zone" at the south end. Staff's recommendation featured bicycles on an off-street facility at sidewalk level, where the parking is currently. Parking would be stripped from the east side of the street, and moved to sidewalk level between trees on the west side. The sidewalk would be widened by 0.9m on the west side, except in the Keefer/Pender block, where it may be on the east side to accomodate Sun Yat-Sen Gardens. Staff's vision for this street includes a community-building exercise, with the bicycle lane closed during events, and the entire street closed during festivals. The longer-term vision for this street is a "woonerf street" in the Dutch tradition, although that won't be possible unless motor vehicle volumes drop substantially.
Existing
Proposed Greenway
Perhaps most importantly, this will be the first bicycle route in the City of Vancouver to adopt some of the design strategies seen in places like Denmark: a sidewalk-level bicycle path, with parked cars separating cyclists from moving cars, instead of separating cyclists from pedestrians. The bicycle lane returns to street level at each intersection, to ensure that drivers are aware of cyclists' presence, and to clarify intended behaviour at the intersection. The diagrams below (taken from the July 2006 staff report) show the block-by-block designs for the street.
At the north end, the overpass over the rail lands to the Port roadway still has no funding. It's been on the table since 1994 (Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement, p. 20), with no progress to date. As an interim alternative, a minor path along Alexander St. has been proposed.
Spot improvement 52 discusses the north end of the route, but doesn't explain how cyclists will cross the intersection. Northbound cyclists will face the most difficulties, since current proposals have them riding contraflow while trying to cross the busy intersection. (Carrall is slated to become one-way southbound for vehicles at this intersection, and Alexander is already one-way southbound.) Vehicle traffic on Powell is unlikely to be prepared for northbound cyclists. The final design selected (shown above) unfortunately has limited provisions for cyclist at the intersection: the bike lanes end and cyclists must navigate the intersection without any aid or priority over motor traffic.
The proposed curb extensions and raised table should help to slow vehicle traffic, but traffic is still heavy. Powell is the most direct route from the Second Narrows Bridge to downtown, and hence has a fair volume of vehicle traffic (10000-20000 per day, according to [DTP p. 44]). Cyclist and pedestrian signals may be required at this intersection.
At the south end of the route, we have heard a range of opinions from cyclists. Many feel that this section of the route should become a car-free greenway, to provide a welcoming entrance leading away from False Creek. The dominant users in the area (the parks) do not need this street; there is already adequate parking in the vicinity. If the dogleg between Keefer and Expo could be straightened, this route might become more attractive to commuter cyclists than neighbouring Abbott. The overpass connecting the parks is bizarre; while it is quite attractive from above, it gives Carrall an unpleasant cavelike feel. This might be alleviated by a commercial presence beneath the overpass. The city has proposed removing parking here, but no road closures or straightening.
The connection to the Seaside bike route remains awkward, as Carrall ends at a parking lot owned by Concord Properties. There are hopes that Carrall may be extended south of Pacific as that site develops, as has already been done for Richards and Hornby.
More discussion was seen in the 2006-2008 capital plan:
The Carrall Greenway concept was approved in the Downtown Transportation Plan. On April 28, 2005, Council approved various design objectives and a concept design for the Greenway. The intent of this downtown greenway is to create another link in the seawall loop around the downtown peninsula, while bringing more residents and visitors to the historic areas of Chinatown, Gastown and the Downtown Eastside. The Carrall Greenway will create a safe pedestrian and cycling environment while celebrating through its design the diverse communities it passes through.
The Staff Review Group recommends $5.0 million in funding for this project in the 2006-2008 Capital Plan. This funding will allow the seven-block Greenway to be built over the next three year Capital Plan and will help leverage supportive, compatible development along its route. This funding does not include the proposed north bridge connection to Crab Park and Burrard Inlet, or the Pacific Blvd to False Creek connection as these will likely be funded by adjacent development.
Administrative Report, 2006-2008 Capital Plan Draft Allocation, June 20, 2005]
