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 easterly extension of the Coal Harbour seawall for both recreational and commuter cyclists is proposed along the Port Roadway corridor, over the Main Street overpass and continuing east along Alexander Street. This connection is desirable given its directness, level grade and role in completing the downtown "loop". Because the Port Roadway is under the authority of the Vancouver Port Authority, this requires their co-operation and commitment. It is recommended that this be pursued in consultation with the Port Authority. This is consistent with the Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement adopted by the Port Corporation and City Council in 1994.
[DTP p. 98]
Traffic data is not available for Port Road.
No impact.
A continuous waterfront pedestrian access route is recommended to connect between the Coal Harbour Seaside Greenway west of Canada Place to the Main Street overpass and continuing along Alexander Street. The route alignment through this area is still conceptual and will be refined in consultation with the Vancouver Port Authority when future development plans are reviewed. This recommendation is consistent with the Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement (1994).
[DTP p. 91]
Improved connectivity with downtown is also planned:
While physically close to the downtown, access to the Central Waterfront is currently limited to the Main Street overpass and Waterfront Road. The rail yards create a significant physical barrier to pedestrians accessing Portside Park and future development throughout the Eastlands. Future pedestrian connections from the downtown to the Central Waterfront district are recommended via Carrall and Richards Streets.
[DTP p. 83]
The Port is a major point for the receiving, conveyance and distribution of goods throughout the region. It is one of the most concentrated sources of trucks and generator of heavy trucks in the downtown peninsula. Trucks from the Port predominantly head east towards Highway #1 or southeast towards the Knight Street Bridge. Fortunately, truck traffic within the downtown peninsula is well accommodated by the existing Port Road along the Burrard Inlet waterfront. The Port Road is controlled by the Vancouver Port Authority to serve their needs and contributes significantly to the efficient movement of Port related goods. It also reduces the potential impact of heavy truck traffic on downtown streets. Therefore, the Port Road should be maintained for Port related traffic and restricted from general traffic. The exception to this may be the use of the Port Roadway, by agreement with major downtown destinations near the waterfront (such as Burrard Landing and Granville Square developments), to allow servicing of these sites.
[DTP p. 104]
No parking allowed on street.
No impact.
Port Road (a.k.a. Waterfront Road) is a promising route, but will take some effort to bring up to its full potential. At present, entry at the west end from the Coal Harbour section of the Seaside route requires a trip through a tunnel-like area under Canada Place. On the east end, an overpass crosses the CP rails to make a connection with Main Street. The streets east of Main Street were apparently once accessible to cyclists, but have since been closed to non-port traffic.
The Seabus and Helijet terminals are both located on Port Road. A pedestrian overpass crosses the rails from Waterfront Station to Port Road, but is currently only intended for Seabus and Helijet customers. At present, signs indicate that it is a "Fare Paid Zone," and could not therefore be legitimately used for cyclist access to Port Road. We have been consulting with TransLink to determine if this status can be changed.
The Port Road Seabus building does not officially allow access to and from Port Road. However, there is already a ticket validation machine in the building, and the door to Port Road is usually open. Legitimizing this as an entry/exit point to the Seabus should be a high priority, since this is the most convenient Seabus route for cyclists. Cycling to Burrard or Carrall is feasible from here, and with the planned pedestrian overpasses, a connection to Richards should also be feasible.
The Vancouver Port Authority does not like the idea of cyclists or pedestrians using the area under Canada Place, nor does it like the idea of an official bike route being put in place along the west part of Port Road.
[About pedestrians: ] While VPA is fully supportive of pedestrian routes and greenways in and around the downtown area the report [DTP] may benefit from some modifications to the graphics and text as they relate to the area around Canada Place and the Lower Port Road. The graphics imply specific alignments that simply may not be possible. Perhaps a more generic approach would be better given that no development plans for the area have yet been completed. Please refer to the Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement as it relates to movement and access. In addition, VPA takes the position of not encouraging the lower level road - beneath Canada Place - for use by pedestrians especially in the short term. Pedestrian activity in this area is not compatible with the bus, truck and other vehicular activites taking place in this area. The "tunnel" area will only expand in the future and will likely become an even less friendly environment for pedestrians. This would be similar to encouraging pedestrians to use back lanes in other parts of downtown where loading/deliveries are made versus the use of the upper level sidewalk.
[About cyclists: ] The comments for this section are vey similar to those made above for the section involving pedestrians in the area of Canada Place and the Port Roadway area. While VPA is fully supportive of bicycle routes and greenways it does not recommend encouraging the use of the lower level road - beneath Canada Place - for use by cyclists, especially in the short term. Bicycle activity in this area is not compatible with the bus, truck and other vehicular activities taking place in this area. Again, the fact that the "tunnel" area will likely expand in the future only means that more trucks and buses will be delivering to the area. The supporting figure for this area may also need to be adjusted, as it appears to be too specific as to the suggested alignment for a future bike route in the area. Given the uncertainty regarding future development in the area at this time a more generic alignment would likely be most appropriate.
[Letter of July 8, 2002 from Dennis Bickell to Doug Louie, p. 2]
The 1994 Central Waterfront Port Lands Official Development Policy described a bikeway near Port Road, and also described pedestrian connections to the downtown area. (They describe Port Road as "Waterfront Road".)
Develop a continuous waterfront walkway and bikeway from Canada Place to Portside Park. The walkway and bikeway should be as close to the water's edge as possible, but may not necessarily be continuously at the water's edge because of functional requirements of primary transportation uses. The bikeway should connect with planned routes in Coal Harbour, and should be planned to enable future connections between Burrard Inlet and False Creek, and east along Burrard Inlet.
When combined, the walkway and bikeway should be a minimum of 10 m (33 ft.) wide. When separated, the bikeway should be a minimum of 3.0 m (10 ft.) wide, and the walkway should be a minimum of 7.0 m (23 ft.) wide. In either case there should be a further 7.6 m (25 ft.) landscaped and/or paved setback along the walkway. Variation in width, setback and location may be considered in Portside Park and other locations.
[Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement (1994) p. 16]
[Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement (1994) p. 20]
The Central Waterfront ODP also proposed development of "downtown use" buildings at the west end of Port Road, which may be why the letter refers to keeping cyclists and pedestrians out in the "short term" - until development is completed.
Regardless, given the glacial speed of the Port Authority, I think we should push hard for access to the area below Canada Place and an official route along Port Road. They've sat on the issue of pedestrian overpasses and access to Port Road for nine years, with little results. Even Portside Park, the major development in the area, was built by the Vancouver Parks Board in 1988 - and the Port Authority hasn't built many good links allowing access to the park.
TransLink may be onside if it reduces bike traffic on the pedestrian overpass from the Seabus to Waterfront Station. Some interesting background on the Port (unrelated to the bike route) is available in Understanding the Service Needs of Port Vancouver, a technical background paper from the city's planning department.
The west end of Port Road is expected to undergo some substantial changes. Currently, the route goes under Canada Place, then connects through a parking lot to the Coal Harbour section of the Seaside route. A wide ramp also connects this parking lot to the foot of Burrard St., at the intersection with Canada Place, at a substantially higher elevation. The plan for this area involves an expansion of the Vancouver Convention Centre, with a large new building going in to the west of Canada Place. A wide 10m walking/cycling path will go around the harbour side of the new building, replacing the existing ramp to Burrard St, and acting as an extension of the Seaside route. Additionally, a tunnel from the existing parking lot will connect the Seaside route to Waterfront Road. Finally, Canada Place will be extended west a block to Thurlow, becoming the streetfront of the new building.
