Agenda Index City of Vancouver

 

CITY OF VANCOUVER

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

APRIL 9 & 11, 2002

A Special Meeting of Vancouver City Council was held on Tuesday, April 9, 2002, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall and was reconvened at 9:02 p.m. on April 11, 2002.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Councillor McCormick
SECONDED by Councillor Don Lee

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

1. Vancouver Transit Strategy (File 5551)

On March 5, 2002, City Council referred the Vancouver Transit Strategy to a special evening Council meeting to hear delegations.

Accordingly, Council had before it a Policy Report dated February 22, 2002 entitled "Vancouver Transit Strategy", in which the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of City Plans described actions the City can take to improve transit services, and conditions under which the City could support the actions of other agencies, such as TransLink, to provide new city and regional transit services. The report noted that several initiatives were brought together to illustrate a comprehensive transit strategy. The City Manager recommended approval of the recommendations outlined in the report.

Dave Rudberg, City Engineer, with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, provided a recap of the March 5, 2002 presentation to Council. Mr. Rudberg noted the significant growth downtown and the lack of opportunity to increase road capacity has resulted in the need for an overall transit strategy. The following priorities were recommended in the report:

· an updated and expanded local and express bus system, with a focus on replacement of the trolley bus fleet;
· a downtown streetcar network for quick frequent trips with a possible at grade extension along the Arbutus Corridor to Kerrisdale and Marpole;
· extension of the Millennium line as a subway from Vancouver Community College along Central Broadway to Granville; and
· a regional transit subway linking Vancouver, Richmond and Vancouver Airport.

Mr. Rudberg also reviewed the notification processes used, which included letters to key stakeholders, businesses and institutions along Cambie Corridor, letters to individuals and interest groups along Cambie and Arbutus Corridors, and advertisements in the Vancouver Sun and Courier newspapers.

Ann McAfee, Co-Director of Planning/Director of City Plans, Pat Wotherspoon, Assistant Director of City Plans, and Wayne Pledger, Strategic Transportation Planning Engineer, were available to respond to questions.

The following speakers addressed City Council:

Graeme Lamson

The following are some of the comments made by the speakers:

· support was expressed for the recommendations because they are consistent with recent polling that identified transit as the number one public issue;
· timing is important; transit will not get any cheaper or easier to implement, and the City should establish its priorities ASAP;
· the plan is comprehensive, proactive, multilevel, and covers all the bases;
· support was expressed for the plan taking into consideration the 2010 Olympic bid;
· support was expressed for the plan recommending an extensive consultation process before the approval of funding;
· railway corridors should be protected and the report reflects this;
· light rail should be considered because it is quiet, preserves neighbourhoods, and is much less expensive than SkyTrain;
· there is not enough ridership to justify the expense of SkyTrain,

· Council was commended for seeking public input;
· SkyTrain is a waste of taxpayers' money; priority should be placed on hospitals, schools and upgrading sewage plants;
· SkyTrain would be a major calamity in an earthquake;
· need to look at a hybrid line before approving Recommendation F; the IBI Group report does not suggest a tunnel; a hybrid model would cost approximately $5/new rider vs. $50/new rider for the subway option;
· public private partnerships option will increase costs to users;
· replacement and expansion of the trolley line should be first priority because it is cost-efficient, noise and emission free, the core of the whole system, and part of Vancouver's history;
· suggestion was made for an amendment to request additional senior government support for trolley fleet replacement and expansion;
· buses need the ability to move freely through the city; trolleys being unable to pass each other results in delays and gaps in service;
· transit users need a more reliable bus network and the only way to get people out of their cars is to offer transit that is fast and efficient;
· request was made that an elevated, smaller, lighter and more cost-effective "Personal Rapid Transit" (PRT) system be investigated before a decision is made;
· recommend more information and rigorous comparisons between light rail and SkyTrain; Council should not be restrict themselves to the SkyTrain option;
· Cambie Heritage Boulevard Society prefers not to have light rail or trains along Cambie and would only support underground rapid transit which has no impact on the boulevard;
· Cambie Heritage Boulevard should be preserved in its entirety; it is a treasured civic landmark with mature street and boulevard trees, urban forest and park landscapes; it needs to be protected if Vancouver is to be known as a healthy, green, liveable city;
· request was made that the combined Cambie Boulevard - Queen Elizabeth Park Forest be designated as a National Urban Forest Treasure;
· Cambie buses are not at capacity; the present bus system adequately services the Cambie area;
· a region-wide transit plan is overdue; Council should be pursuing the plan aggressively and pushing TransLink to make it happen;
· unless there is an urgency such as the 2010 Olympic bid, Recommendations E and F should be deferred until funding is available;
· Council was urged to oppose public private partnerships within public transportation;
· more information is required on the downtown streetcar, i.e. who would operate, fare structure and ridership potential;

· removing the 98 B-Line bus contradicts the Transportation Plan which states local transit should be maintained;
· downtown streetcar is appropriate for tourists but not for major transportation;
· bus service has decreased and transit fares have increased; bus system needs should be addressed before SkyTrain;
· a proposal for a "Sky to Sky" corridor between the airport and Whistler was put forward;
· if public private partnerships are used there needs to be transparency, i.e., a published joint venture financing agreement between partners;
· Oakridge Centre supports a rapid transit link via the Cambie St. corridor because it would improve the accessibility and sustainability of the City by encouraging transit use, would be beneficial to customers by giving better access to the centre as well as reduced traffic congestion at 41st and Cambie and the surrounding area, the operating costs would be covered by the users, it is the shortest route and the land use along the route has the highest population;
· the report does not address diesel routes not serviced by trolleys; these routes could be serviced by cleaner natural gas busses;
· the opportunity to use freight rail has been missed; alternative methods of goods movement should be considered;
· concern expressed regarding the lack of public process on the downtown streetcar, whistle blowing affects people living along the corridor, and the crossings are unsafe;
· consideration should be given to relocating some of the Granville busses to Cambie.

Staff responded to questions from Council on the following:

· confirmed there is sufficient ridership to justify use of the Cambie corridor;
· clarified the report suggests an underground subway but does not specify the technology or timing;
· staff agreed to compare cost per new rider between the subway and an at grade model;
· staff agreed to compare ridership and bus service hours per capita between 1985 and present;
· clarified the intent is to move to a smaller scale streetcar which would not be covered under the railway act and would not have to follow the same rules as a train;
· level crossing safety issues and a quieter whistle for the downtown streetcar will be explored.

MOVED by Councillor Sullivan

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Councillor Don Lee

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Councillor Don Lee
SECONDED by Councillor Daniel Lee

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Special Council recessed at 10:10 p.m. on April 9, 2002 and
adjourned at 10:05 p.m. on April 11, 2002

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sc020409.htm

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