ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

J. Patterson 6644

RTS No. 3118
CC File No.5560-1
Meeting Date: June 10, 2003

TO:

Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

Downtown Transportation Plan - Implementation Timetable

 

RECOMMENDATION

CONSIDERATION

As an alternative to Recommendations A and B, the following is submitted for Consideration:

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On July 9, 2002, Council adopted the Downtown Transportation Plan to improve downtown accessibility and livability by creating a balanced transportation system that includes adjusting the road network, enhancing public transit, promoting a walkable downtown, creating a network of bike lanes, maintaining efficient goods movement, managing parking supply and implementing intelligent transportation systems.

Other relevant City policies include:

The Central Area Plan (1991) created neighbourhoods and housing closer to the downtown commercial core in part to balance transportation demand and supply to downtown destinations, including travel through the established neighbourhoods and across bridges to the downtown.

Vancouver Greenways Plan (1995) encouraged the development of "green" paths for pedestrians and cyclists to expand the opportunities for urban recreation, to provide alternate ways to move through the city and to enhance the experience of nature, community and city life.

CityPlan (1995) established major directions for transportation policy within the City, including support for a hierarchy of mode priorities with pedestrians first, then cycling, transit, goods movement and vehicles.

Vancouver Transportation Plan (1997) emphasized the need for increased provision and use of transit, not increasing overall road capacity above the present level, maintaining an efficient goods movement network, traffic calming in neighbourhoods, and safer and more comfortable biking and walking environments.

The City's policies with respect to land use and transportation are in accord with and supported by those of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Transport 2021 (1993) provided a regional framework for managing the transportation system by integrating land use and transportation policies, applying transport demand management, adjusting transport service levels, and supplying transport capacity.

The Livable Region Strategic Plan (1995) provided a regional framework for managing growth by increasing transportation choices, building complete communities, achieving a compact metropolitan region and protecting the Green Zone.

PURPOSE

This report outlines the time frame in which the Downtown Transportation Plan recommendations will be pursued and implemented.

SUMMARY

Eighty recommendations contained in the Downtown Transportation Plan were adopted by Council in July 2002, and a report back with an implementation program was requested. In developing an implementation program, all eighty recommendations were reviewed with the objective of completing them strategically and as quickly as possible. An Implementation Timetable was developed (Appendix A) that outlines the anticipated completion time of the recommendations (within three years, 4-6 years, or 7+ years). The Timetable was developed after considering existing City policies and priorities, current needs and concerns, upcoming opportunities, and land use considerations. A number of strategies were used to maximize the use of existing resources including: altering priorities and revising current work programs, reallocating existing capital resources and seeking other funding sources. As well, five new temporary full time staff positions and an upgrade of one existing position are recommended to help implement and coordinate the plan's recommendations within the next three years at a total cost of $992,000.

Table 1 lists the deliverables targeted for completion within three years with additional staff resources. Given the uncertainties related to the scope of individual projects and the potential emergence of other future competing priorities, the deliverables listed in Table 1 represent ambitious but achievable targets.

The Downtown Transportation Plan is a significant accomplishment for the City, and its implementation will improve access to and within the downtown and promote a more sustainable transportation network. The Plan addresses all transportation modes and works toward achieving the vision of downtown Vancouver being the most accessible place in the region. The Plan will also improve the livability of the downtown for the thousands of existing and future residents and workers. Completion of the deliverables in Table 1 by the end of 2005 will have a noticeable and positive impact with respect to downtown accessibility and livability. Three gateways into the downtown (Georgia Street, Granville Street and Burrard Street) will be redesigned such that residents and visitors entering the downtown can see or look forward to new inviting vistas. The reconstruction of West Georgia Street and the "S-curve" at the transition to the Stanley Park Causeway will be completed later in 2003 and will create a bold new entry into Vancouver from the North Shore with new street lighting and bike lanes.

Granville Street, from Granville Bridge to Waterfront Station, will be redesigned to create a revitalized street that will live up to its potential of being one of the city's Great Streets. Assistance will be provided by Allan Jacobs, noted author of Great Streets and The Boulevard Book and conceptual designer for Pacific Boulevard in 2002. The Granville Street Redesign Project study area goes to the Granville Bridge sidewalks at the south end of the downtown and will be integrated with future changes to the bridge deck itself to better accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. New street furniture and street programming may be some of the immediate changes to take place. Potential changes to the Granville Street Bridge loops and surrounding area to remove barriers to north-south access to False Creek and develop one of the downtown's major gaps will be presented in a separate Council report.

Burrard Bridge and Street will be redesigned to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrian and bike capacity on the bridge will be increased, and more comfortable and convenient access for pedestrians and cyclists through the intersection of Burrard and Pacific will be provided. Construction of these changes may be initiated within three years. Bike lanes and some pedestrian enhancements along Burrard, Hornby and Pacific will be in installed within three years.

Other notable road network changes within three years include the conversion of Carrall, Abbott, Cambie, Beatty and Homer streets from one-way to two-way operation, and adjustments to the truck route network. The changes to Carrall, Abbott and the north end of Cambie will improve traffic circulation within and accessibility to the Gastown area. The changes to Beatty, Homer and the south end of Cambie will improve accessibility to the new residential neighbourhoods in the downtown. The transit, pedestrian and bicycle initiatives outlined below will also contribute to this increased accessibility. This is important as these new areas are being developed much more rapidly than originally envisaged.

The transit initiatives in the Downtown Transportation Plan, beginning with the development of an Area Transit Plan with TransLink, will help make transit use more convenient and faster. Several bus priority measures will be reviewed for implementation, and new transit routes will be planned to better connect users to their desired destinations, especially in the Central Area. New transit shelters can be expected in many parts of the downtown beginning this year.

Pedestrians will see significant enhancements in the next three years. The deliverables include the reconstruction of portions of Pacific Boulevard as a densely treed grand boulevard, streetscape design guidelines along several pedestrian priority streets (Hornby, Pender, Main, Denman, Burrard, Georgia and Hastings), and the design of several Greenways (Carrall, Helmcken, Comox, and Lagoon Drive). Pedestrians walking throughout the downtown will notice the addition of several measures that will make their trip more comfortable and convenient. These include the addition of corner bulges, widened crosswalks, reduced delays at signals, better way-finding signage, curb ramps and audible indicators at pedestrian actuated signals.

Finally, the implementation plan for the next three years includes the rapid development of the bike route network in the downtown. This network would provide east-west and north-south access across the downtown and will connect to the existing citywide network across the False Creek bridges to the south and the Adanac Bikeway to the east. These facilities will serve the needs of existing cyclists and will help to further promote cycling.

As an alternative to the recommended implementation timetable, a reduced implementation plan is presented for consideration that utilizes existing staff resources only and does not require an increase in the Operating Budget. The deliverables within three years are reduced and are shown as bolded items in Table 1. The projects that would be delayed until after 2005 include:

BACKGROUND

Following a series of regional and city plans and policies, the need to prepare a Downtown Transportation Plan was specifically identified in the 1997 Vancouver Transportation Plan. The 1997 Transportation Plan set the transportation policy for the city, including the downtown, but the complexities of the downtown transportation network required further review and consultation in a follow-up plan in order to provide more specific recommendations.

In June 1999 Council approved the planning process for the Downtown Transportation Plan (DTP). The process included an extensive public consultation program over a 22-month period to address the existing and emerging transportation issues within the downtown. During the process, a cumulative total of 500 participants took part in a series of 17 open houses, workshops and Awalkabouts@ throughout the downtown to address issues relating to the plan. Numerous meetings were also held with stakeholders, such as business, community and resident groups, to obtain input into the plan. The consultation process included the publication of three newsletters. More than 1,500 people responded to the questionnaires attached to the newsletters. The majority of responses received were favourable to all components of the plan. This was confirmed in a follow-up random sample survey of 900 residents/commuters/businesses by Ipsos-Reid.

On July 9, 2002, Council unanimously adopted the Downtown Transportation Plan with the support of all key stakeholders including the Board of Trade, the Downtown Vancouver Association, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, Better Environmentally Sound Transportation, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition and Council Advisory Committees on Bicycle, Seniors and Disability Issues.

This report responds to the following recommendation adopted by Council on July 9, 2002:
Recommendation B - THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of Current Planning be instructed to report back by January 2003 on an implementation program based on the recommendations scheduled for completion "within 3 years", as outlined in Section 7.0 of the Downtown Transportation Plan, attached as Appendix A to the Policy Report dated May16, 2002 entitled "Downtown Transportation Plan", and that a schedule be developed for all other recommended items.

DISCUSSION

The Downtown Transportation Plan contains 80 recommendations that are subdivided into 11 categories (Population and Employment, Road Network, Transit, Pedestrians, Bicycling, Goods Movement, Parking, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Public Realm, Environmental Assessment, and Implementation and Funding). In addition, there are 53 "Spot Improvements" identified in the final report. These spot improvements illustrate how some of the plan's recommendations may be implemented at specific locations. In many of the plan's recommendations and spot improvement ideas, further analysis, design, and public consultation is required to ensure success.

The implementation of the Downtown Transportation Plan will involve several City Departments, mostly Engineering and Planning. Engineering will be responsible for the majority of the deliverables. Many elements of the Plan, like the redesign, management and programming of Granville Street, will be pursued jointly by both departments in consultation with other city departments.

The Downtown Transportation Plan (DTP) recommendations were reviewed with the objective of implementing them strategically and as quickly as possible. This would build upon the momentum of the recently completed plan and meet expectations of increased downtown accessibility and livability in the shorter term. The resulting recommended Implementation Timetable is attached as Appendix A. The timetable lists all the Plan's recommendations and outlines their anticipated completion time (within three years, 4-6 years, and 7+ years). The majority of the DTP recommendations will be initiated within three years with many also being completed within that time frame.

The development of the recommended Implementation Timetable required an assessment of the following three factors which are further described below:

1. Adjusting Priorities

The following factors were considered in placing priorities on projects:

2. Reallocating Resources

The availability of existing resources was reviewed to minimize the need for new resources. At the same time, care was taken to ensure that other existing city services are maintained. A number of strategies were used in this regard:

3. New Resources

Many existing staff resources are being coordinated to implement several of the recommendations of the Downtown Transportation Plan. This includes staff from a number of Engineering branches to design and implement a variety of pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and roadway upgrades, and staff from Planning and Engineering to undertake major initiatives like the redesign of Granville Street and the development of the Carrall Street Greenway. These deliverables are listed as bolded items in Table 1 (see below).

Additional staff is recommended to provide an enhanced level of service and to implement additional DTP recommendations within the next three years. The number and duration of the recommended additional staff is based on an estimate of the level of effort to deliver the unbolded items listed in Table 1. Despite the significant overlap of duties because of the nature of the work, a rough breakdown of the responsibilities of the new staff is provided below:

All of the projects listed require some public consultation.

In addition to new staff, there are also additional program support costs like the part-time use of a Graphics Technician, an upgrade of an existing Civil Engineer II position to a Civil Engineer III position to reflect additional responsibilities, and other expenses as detailed in the Financial Implications.

Proposed Deliverables

Table 1 (below) lists 83 deliverables that are proposed to be completed within three years with additional staff resources. It is an ambitious program. There are a number of uncertainties, but it provides a target to be achieved.

Bolded recommendations represent deliverables that can be completed with existing staff resources. It is proposed that only the bolded items be implemented in the event that Council elects not to increase the Operating Budget as presented in the Consideration item in this report.


Population and Employment

Road Network
2 Pursue Burrard MRN Designation (RN2)
3 Review Granville MRN designation (RN1)

5 Convert Carrall Street (Hastings-Pender) to 2-way (RN5)
6 Convert Abbott Street north of Pender to 2-way (RN5)
7 Further evaluate Pender Street conversion to 1-way (RN9)
8 Implement Pender Street recommendation (RN9, BK1)
9 Minor Road Widening on Davie and Nelson (RN10)

Transit
13 Initiate the False Creek Flats Rail Study (TR4)

15 Downtown Rapid Transit Line Reviews (TR5)
16 Review Potential Transit/HOV lane on Burrard (TR11)
17 Extend HOV lane on Georgia eastward to Richards(TR12)

18 Review potential transit signal priority on Hastings (TR13)
19 Review Potential Main Street bus queue jumper (TR14)
20 Redesign Granville Street (TR15, TR16)

Pedestrians
24 Design Carrall Street Greenway (PD1)

27 Redesign/reconstruct curb ramps at select locations (PD2)
28 Remove restricted pedestrian crossings where possible (PD3)

30 Develop/Implement new sidewalk lane crossings at selected locations (PD5)

32 Construct corner bulges at select locations (PD7)
33 Reconstruct Jervis at Pender to improve pedestrian access (PD13)
34 Widen crosswalks with high ped volumes at select locations (PD14)
35 Remove pedestrian holds where possible (PD15)
36 Implement a trial of new pedestrian detection devices (PD16)
37 Ensure all existing pedestrian signals have audible indicators (PD16)
38 Design Helmcken/Comox Street Greenway (PD1)
39 Design Lagoon Drive Greenway with Park Board (PD1)

48 Review and amend sidewalk weather protection guidelines (PD10)
49 Redesign Intersection of Carrall/Powell/Water/Alexander (PD18)
50 Design pedestrian enhancements along Water Street (PD18)
51 Establish building setback line on Davie Street (PD19)

Bikes

54 Design and implement bike lanes on Pacific and Expo Boulevard (BK1)
55 Design and implement bike lanes on Hornby (BK1)
56 Design and implement bike lanes on Pender/Dunsmuir (BK1)
57 Construct bike lanes on Georgia Street west of Pender (BK1)
58 Design bike lanes on Carrall Street (BK1)

61 Implement Street Furniture Program - pedestrian/bike facilities (BK4)
62 Make existing West End local traffic barriers bike friendly (BK5)
63 Design and implement bike lanes on Beatty (BK1)
64 Design bike lanes on Richards (BK1)
65 Design the Chilco Street Bikeway (BK1)
66 Design the Cardero Street Bikeway (BK1)
67 Design bike lanes on Alberni/Jervis/Haro (BK1)

Goods Movement
71 Amend Truck Routes as per Plan (GM1)
72 Remove Downtown South Truck Area Designation (GM2)
73 Review Parking By-Law Truck Loading Requirements (GM3)
74 Monitor municipal commercial plate program (GM4)
75 Establish an education program for managing tour buses (GM7)

Parking
76 Renovate Gastown Parkade to animate street frontage (PK5)
77 Adjust select on-street parking regulations as per Plan (PK7)

Intelligent Transportation Systems
79 Implement 40 km/h traffic signal progression on selected streets (IT1)

Public Realm
80 Develop terms of reference for undertaking a Public Realm Study (PR1)

Implementation and Funding
81 Prepare an annual monitoring report (IF2)
82 Install automatic traffic detection devices downtown (IF2)

Spot Improvements

Note: Potential changes to the Granville Street Bridge loops and surrounding area to remove barriers to north-south access to False Creek is one of the spot improvements identified in the plan that is also being pursued. Departmental responsibilities are currently being determined and a separate report to Council will be forwarded soon. Other spot improvements in the plan will also be pursued as opportunities arise.

Schedule Uncertainties

There are uncertainties with the proposed timetable as outlined in Appendix A and detailed in Table 1. Uncertainties related to the emergence of new and competing priorities, technical difficulties, the level of public interest and the duration of the public consultation process will all have to be carefully managed. For example, if additional resources are required for a major project like the Richmond/Vancouver/Airport rapid transit line, the DTP implementation timetable may be affected. To keep Council and the public informed of any adjustments to the timetable, progress in achieving all the deliverables will be monitored and any adjustments will be reported to Council on an annual basis.

Deliverables with Existing Staff Resources Only

As an alternative, the Downtown Transportation Plan can be implemented with existing staff resources over a more extended period of time. The proposed deliverables listed in Table 1 that would be completed in the first three years would be reduced from 83 to 56, and are bolded. Items not bolded would be implemented after 2005.

As it would not require increasing the Operating Budget, this option is presented for consideration. This consideration item is not recommended because a more focussed implementation program will increase net benefits from the changes, especially since the downtown residential neighbourhoods are being built out much more rapidly than initially projected.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The implementation of the Downtown Transportation Plan was identified in the 2003 Preliminary Report Appendix as a "Type C" Initiative, to be reported later in the year for Council approval and to be funded from Contingency Reserve.

The recommended Implementation Timetable (Appendix A) and Proposed Deliverables within three years (Table 1) require additional funding. The funds required are outlined below:

Description 2003 2004 2005

Planner III ........................................................ $ 80,000 $ 87,500 $ 87,500

Civil Engineer III* .......................................... $ 13,000 $ 14,500 $ 14,500

Civil Engineer I ............................................... $ 36,000 $ 72,000 $ 72,000
Engineering Assistant IV ................................. $ 0 $ 60,000 $ 60,000
Planning Analyst ............................................. $ 29,000 $ 58,000 $ 58,000
Engineering Assistant II .................................. $ 22,000 $ 44,000 $ 44,000
Graphics Technician (part time) ...................... $ 10,000 $ 10,000 $ 10,000
Public Consultation Expenses ......................... $ 5,000 $ 10,000 $ 10,000
Office Space, Equipment & Contingency......... $ 33,000 $ 26,000 $ 26,000
Total ................................................................ $228,000 $382,000 $382,000

* The incremental cost of the Civil Engineer III position represents additional responsibilities of an existing Civil Engineer II position for 3 years.

All new positions are subject to a classification review.

The total cost of $992,000 over three years would be funded with $228,000 from 2003 Contingency Reserve and as increased funding for $382,000 in the 2004 Operating Budget and for $382,000 in the 2005 Operating Budget.

It is assumed that on May 15, 2003, Council will approve an allocation of $300,000 in the 2003 Streets Basic Capital report (section a-4a) for construction of minor miscellaneous DTP initiatives. These initiatives include corner bulges and other curb realignments or changes. It should be noted that these changes may, subject to final design, incur additional operating expenses for maintenance. These will be requested as part of the 2004 or 2005 operating budget process.
Council approval for additional capital funds will be required prior to implementing some of the deliverables listed in Table 1. For example, projects like the redesign of Granville Street will require additional capital resources for construction. The extent of the costs and all potential funding sources will not be known until the scope of the project is further developed during the design process. Others like the number of pedestrian corner bulges to be constructed at select locations are only roughly estimated, and may require additional capital if more are to be constructed than estimated.

There are also a number of uncertainties related to potential capital funding sources. Estimates have been made with respect to potential cost-sharing from outside agencies (namely TransLink) and potential funds from future development cost levies. If these estimates fall short, then council approval for additional capital funds would again be required in order to maintain the implementation program.

PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
It should be noted that according to the Collective Agreement, temporary full time employees who have won a competition and remain in the same position for at least two years will gain regular full time status. The creation of the Planner III and Planning Analyst positions in CSG, and the Engineering Assistant IV and Engineering Assistant II positions in Engineering for 2-3 years may result in the conversion of up to four staff to regular status. Should the program and funding be discontinued after 2-3 years, the converted staff will be entitled to layoff, bumping and recall rights as per the Collective Agreement.

CONCLUSION

An implementation timetable for the Downtown Transportation Plan (Appendix A) was prepared with the objective of completing the plan recommendations strategically and as quickly as possible. This required adjusting priorities, the strategic reallocation of existing resources, and the addition of new staff resources. An ambitious list of deliverables (Table 1) is recommended for completion within three years at an operating cost to be funded with $228,000 from 2003 Contingency Reserve and as increased funding for $382,000 in 2004 Operating Budget and for $382,000 in 2005 Operating Budget.

A reduced list of deliverables within three years is presented as an alternative for consideration, although it is not recommended. This alternative uses existing staff resources to implement the Downtown Transportation Plan and does not require an increase in the Operating Budget.

* * * *

Link to maps and appendices


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