Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

Development of Ontario Greenway - North Section

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. THAT Council approve the construction of the Ontario Greenway - North Section as described in this report;

B. THAT funding of $512,000 be approved from Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 30000134 (City Greenways) and Account No. 30002965 (City Greenways) for construction of the Ontario Greenway - North Section;

C. THAT funding of $86,000 for infill street lighting along the Ontario Greenway North and South Sections be approved from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 30003084 (Greenways General);

D. THAT commencing in 2003, the following operating budgets be increased (without offset) and subject to annual budget review:

E. THAT Council approve $104,000 from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 30003084 (Greenways General) for temporary staff, with $40,000 of this to be for work associated with the Ontario Greenway, $25,000 for the Downtown Historic Trail, $25,000 for the Seaside Greenway, and $14,000 for the BC Parkway.
GENERAL MANAGERS' COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On July 18, 1995, Council approved the Vancouver Greenways Plan.
On May 27, 1997, Council approved the Vancouver Transportation Plan.
On May 2, 2000, Council approved the route for the Ontario Greenway.
On July 26, 2001, Council approved the development of the Ontario Greenway - South Section.

SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to obtain Council approval for the design of the Ontario Greenway -North Section and to allocate funds, as outlined in this report, for its construction and maintenance from the approved existing Capital Budgets. This section extends from 2nd Avenue to King Edward Avenue.

Greenways are green routes through the City for pedestrians and cyclists. In 1995, Council adopted the Vancouver Greenways Plan and identified Ontario as one of the routes. When complete, the Ontario Greenway will extend from False Creek to 59th Avenue. Opportunities will be explored for a future link to the Fraser River.

The Ontario Greenway design has been the subject of extensive community consultation including open houses, community workshops, and surveys. The proposed design improves pedestrian and cyclist safety, increases green space, adds aesthetic elements to the route, and provides pedestrian and cyclist amenities. The Ontario Greenway design, as described in this report is within the budget of the Greenway Program.

Also, this report seeks Council approval for two temporary positions for one year to assist with the final design and construction of the Ontario Greenway, as well as to assist with public process, design, and construction of other Greenway initiatives to ensure that the capital program continues at the approved rate.

BACKGROUND

When complete, the Ontario Greenway will connect the Fraser River to False Creek . The Ontario Greenway - North Section extends 23 blocks from 2nd Avenue to King Edward Avenue. The development of the south section of the greenway, which extends from King Edward Avenue to 59th Avenue, was approved by Council in July 2001. The connection from 2nd Avenue to False Creek willbe done in conjunction with the redevelopment of Southeast False Creek, and opportunities will be explored for a future link from 59th Avenue to the Fraser River.

Public Review Process

A three phase public process was conducted. In the first phase three public open houses were held to inform residents about the Greenways program, solicit comments on the project goals and to inform staff of community priorities. The goals for the Ontario Greenway, as drafted by staff and endorsed by the community are:

The community was very interested in traffic calming aspects of the greenway. In addition, there was strong support for the social and environmental aspects of greenway design. This feedback provided a framework for the design process.

The preliminary greenway design was developed between June 2000 to February 2001.

The second phase of the public consultation consisted of two open houses for public review and comment on the preliminary design. Invitations to the open houses with detailed maps of the preliminary plan were delivered to residents, absentee owners and user groups, and meetings were advertised in the local paper. Comments were also received by mail and through phone calls. Residents most affected by elements such as seating areas were contacted by mail to discuss final locations for benches. Businesses north of Broadway were contacted to determine if they would be interested in having the City provide some additional low-maintenance planting in the boulevard back of the sidewalk along Ontario. Comments received were used to finalize the proposed greenway design.

An additional separate evening meeting was held on March 29, 2001 with residents living near 18th Avenue and Ontario to respond to concerns raised at the February 2001 open houses.

In the third phase of the public consultation, details of the greenway plan and a survey were distributed to all properties inside the districtation for Areas 1 and 2 to measure levels of support for various greenway measures (See Appendix A for area boundaries).

DISCUSSION

Ontario Greenway Plan

The proposed plan focuses on improving pedestrian and cyclist safety and calming traffic, as well as increasing green space, adding aesthetic elements to the route and providing pedestrian and cyclist amenities. Maps showing the proposed Greenway measures are attached as Appendix A.

Traffic Calming Measures

Traffic calming measures for the Greenway, including traffic circles, corner bulges and the narrowing of Ontario between 18th and 19th Avenues, are proposed to slow traffic, increase safety, provide environmental and aesthetic benefits and encourage non-local traffic to use arterial streets.

Traffic circles are proposed for 18th and 20th Avenues to slow traffic, to increase green space and provide environmental and aesthetic benefits to the neighbourhood.

Corner bulges are proposed at 2nd, 5th, 8th and Broadway to provide landscape opportunities and reduce crossing distance for pedestrians while maintaining clear passage for commercial vehicles. Corner bulges are proposed at 16th Avenue to provide better sight lines for pedestrians and drivers and to heighten the presence of pedestrians at this intersection. Corner bulges are also proposed for 18th, 20th, 22nd, and 23rd Avenue to narrow the east-west street thus shortening the crossing distance, provide some re-alignment to the intersections, and create additional green space on the corners. All of these traffic calming measures include planting areas that increase green space and beautify the neighbourhood. These street gardens can be sponsored by local residents through the City's Green Streets program.

Ontario Street splits into two flanks just south of 18th Avenue, with an existing triangle of green space between the two flanks. After lengthy public consultation staff recommend to only slightly modify this area. Proposed changes include:
· narrowing the western flank by removing parking that is rarely used which would help to address the vehicle speeds through this area;
· leave the eastern flank as existing; and,
· increase the area of the triangle by extending the space to the west and work with community groups to design the landscaping for the space.

Survey Results

Comments were sought in Areas 1 and 2 on proposed seating area locations, enhanced lighting, planted corner bulges, and other amenities. Surveys questions were not asked in Area 1 sincethere were no proposed traffic circles or other traffic pattern changes due to the industrial nature of the area. Surveys were distributed to properties in Area 2 to gauge support for traffic calming features such as traffic circles.

The return rate for comment sheets in Area 1 was 16%. Of the 13 comment sheets returned, 62% supported the proposal, 8% were neutral, and 31% did not support the proposal. Area 1 comments are provided in Appendix B. Those who did not support the proposal were generally not in favour of the planned corner bulges as they felt they would detract from the industrial nature of the area. Staff have taken this into consideration and have designed the corner bulges so that they will not impede commercial vehicles.

The survey return rate in Area 2 was 20%. All of the traffic calming measures received strong support. Tables illustrating the survey results are included in Appendix B.

While overall support for the originally proposed directional traffic changes at 18th and Ontario were high (76% on route and 76% in the entire survey area), there was strong, localized objection on 18th Avenue, from the west section of Ontario to Quebec Street. These residents are concerned about the potential for increased traffic on 18th Avenue. The local residents on the east section of Ontario and 18th Avenue, between the east and west sections of Ontario are also concerned about the increase of traffic directly in front of their homes. Staff felt the concerns of the residents in the immediate vicinity of 18th and Ontario regarding significantly increased traffic in front of their homes were reasonable and that significant Greenway benefits could still be achieved without altering the traffic flow at 18th and Ontario. Hence staff are no longer pursuing the proposed design that would have altered the western flank to be one-way south bound only.

Seating Areas

Greenways typically include pedestrian and cyclist amenities, such as seating areas. Where supported by local residents, seating areas can include benches, landscaping, drinking fountains and pedestrian lighting and provide a rest stop for users. There were many requests, particularly from older residents, for additional benches along the route.

Seating areas are proposed on Ontario Street at the southwest corner of 5th Avenue; the southeast corner of 8th Avenue adjacent to Raven Song Community Health Centre; the southwest corner of Broadway, to be constructed and funded by the adjacent development; the northwest corner of 10th Avenue adjacent to the Alliance Church, in the existing vehicle closure at 11th on the east and west sides; and in the land triangle at 18th. The design for all of these seating areas includes a bench and decorative landscaping.

Street Lighting Infill

With matching funding from the City's Electrical Branch, Greenways proposes to infill the street lighting with additional cobra head street lights to bring Ontario Street to the new City standard of 2 cobra heads per block. This improved level of lighting will enhance cyclist and pedestrian safety.

Other Greenway Features

Other Greenway features include infill street trees, interpretive and directional signage, curb drops and ramps where there are none, gravel walks where there are no existing sidewalks, and special crossings at arterial streets using innovative pavement treatments. Additionally, staff are working with the businesses north of Broadway to increase green space and plantings in this commercial area. Traffic circles, corner bulges, and other areas where possible will be planted with native and drought tolerant species, and where possible, areas will be naturalized to increase the habitat potential of the land. Street lighting will also be improved from one light per block to two lights per block, and additional pedestrian-scale lighting will be provided at points of interest.

Public Art

Public art is used to add interest to the route and enhance neighbourhood character. Funding from the Office of Cultural Affairs for public art on the Ontario Greenway has been approved by Council on July 10, 2001 and the public art process is currently underway.

Areas for Future Development

The Ontario Greenway, between 2nd Avenue and False Creek will be developed in conjunction with the future redevelopment of South East False Creek (SEFC) to ensure that the design compliments the SEFC layout and uses. This project will involve a separate public process and report to Council.

Staffing Requirement

Additional funding for temporary staff is required to assist with the completion of the final design as well as other Greenway initiatives. The requested funding will provide for additional staff resources and landscape expertise for a total of 1 year in a Engineering Assistant III position and 1 year in a Landscape Designer position. The additional staff is required to implement the Ontario Greenway and other Greenway initiatives such as the Downtown Historic Trail and the BC Parkway in a timely manner. Also, these staff will assist with upgrades to the Seaside Greenway, including redesign of the area under the north foot of the Burrard bridge where there has been a history of user conflicts. These two temporary staff positions are required as this year demands high production and time sensitive work to ensure the capital program does not fall behind.

The Greenways Landscape Architect is working on the Central Valley Greenway with the Province, which has required and will continue to require much more effort of the City's part than originally anticipated. Also, the Assistant Greenways Engineer has and continues to work on theFalse Creek Anchoring Management Plan. This has resulted in two of the four regular full time greenways staff not being available to work on the approved capital program. With the limited availability of these two key members of the Greenways team, it is necessary to retain temporary staff to ensure that the capital program continues at the approved rate.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Greenways benefit the environment by enhancing the opportunities to walk and cycle in the city. Greenways also increase the numbers of trees and other plants along the greenway routes, and include measures to allow storm water runoff to filter into planted areas.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Greenways contribute positively to society through the provision of increased opportunities for active and passive recreation, community interaction and healthier lifestyles.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Greenway Construction

A budget of $512,000 as described in Appendix C, is required for the construction of the greenway as described in this report. In order to optimize project impact and ensure project co-ordination with other City departments, a variety of City resources will be used to help build the greenway. For example, curb drops will be installed where required through the Curb Ramp Program; street tree infilling will be done through the Park Board's regular Street Tree Infill Program; public art will be funded through the Office of Cultural Affairs. Therefore these items are not included in the design budget for the Ontario Greenway and are already included in existing capital budgets.

Street Lighting Infill

In addition, $86,000 is required to match funds from the approved Electrical Capital Budget to accelerate the street lighting infill on Ontario Street. This total of $598,000 is available from existing approved Greenways Capital Budget, wherein the Ontario Greenway has been listed as a project.

Operating Budget Increases

Upon completion of the greenway, operating budget increases (without offset) of $18,000 are required for gravel path, horticultural, signage and lighting maintenance, and increases to energy costs for the infill street lighting, see Appendix C. These increases will be subject to review during the 2003 operating budget process.

Staffing Requirements

Finally, staff recommend that Council approve $104,000 from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 30003084 (Greenways General) to fund temporary staff. $40,000 of the $104,000 would be for work associated with the Ontario Greenway, $25,000 for the Downtown Historic Trail, $25,000 for the Seaside Greenway, and $14,000 for the BC Parkway.

A table listing requested funding amounts is attached as Appendix C.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Construction of the hardscape measures along the Ontario Greenway, such as corner bulges and traffic circles, can begin as early as Summer 2002. Planting in the constructed elements will be undertaken in the subsequent fall and spring planting windows. Construction of special areas along the greenway can also begin in the summer of 2002. Subject to City Operations crews availability, construction of the north section of the Ontario Greenway could be complete by spring of 2003. Elements involving public art will proceed at different rates due to the involvement of other departments and artist groups.

CONCLUSION

The development of the Ontario Greenway, between 2nd Avenue and King Edward Avenue, provides many environmental and social benefits for the residents of Vancouver. Based on the directive of the Council approved Vancouver Greenways Plan and the support of the residents for this design, staff recommend that the proposed measures for the Ontario Greenway, as outlined in this report, be approved by Council for construction.

LINK TO APPENDIX A, B & C

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