ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

False Creek Flats - Rail Transportation Study

 

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve the City's participation in the proposed regional passenger and freight rail transportation study, including analysis of the False Creek Flats, as described herein, at a cost of $50,000; source of funding to be 2003 Contingency Reserve.

GENERAL MANAGER OF ENGINEERING SERVICES COMMENTS

Through participation with the Greater Vancouver Gateway Council, Transport Canada and other stakeholders, the City gains access to the major railways which may not be possible if the City proceeded independently. As a result, approval of the Recommendation is recommended.

COUNCIL POLICY

In June 1996, Council adopted the False Creek Flats Preliminary Concept Plan which set policy directions for the Flats and identified suitable locations for high-technology and commercial uses while preserving some land for city serving and transportation related industrial uses.

In March 2001 Council adopted a Structure Plan (ie, a pattern of streets, parks, pedestrian connections) that respects the city-serving and high tech zoning and will, over time, integrate the Flats with the rest of the City.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval and funding to participate in a regional rail transportation study in order to identify a core rail network that will need to be preserved to meet the long term passenger, freight, and Port operations of the False Creek Flats. The study will determine analyzethe current and long-range projectedpassenger and freight rail requirements,, including identifying any existing rail networkinfrastructure constraints, and future opportunities for rail network rationalization.

BACKGROUND

When City Council approved the False Creek Flats Structure Plan in March 2001, it recognized that a broad transportation study had never been done to understand the overall implications of the increased transportation demand associated with a growing workforce in the Flats.

City Council also recognized the potential for the rail providers in the Flats, especially Canadian National (CN) and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railways, to review their rail operations in the context of growth and change within and around the Flats. There are approximately 95 acres of land in the Flats dedicated to rail activities, primarily to serve Port Vancouver and passenger rail services (see Appendix A). The Port anticipates significant growth in goods movement in the next 15-20 years, and both VIA and Amtrack are considering an expansion of services.

In response to the above, City Council approved undertaking the following transportation studies and instructeddirected staff to report back on timing, cost, and terms of reference the following:
· a transportation planning study on the broad consequences and associated transportation impacts on the proposed structure plan of streets, transit routes, bikeways, and pedestrian connections
· a passenger and freight rail transportation study on the current and future rail needs including goods movement implications for the City and the Port

DISCUSSION

Since the False Creek Flats Structure Plan was approved in 2001, there have been several new development proposals in the area. For example, Providence Health Care has expressed public interest in moving some services from existing hospital facilities (St.Pauls, St. Vincents, Holy Family, and Mt. St. Josephs) to the Station Street siteCN railway has rationalized some of its rail yard capacity and made available for redevelopment a portion of its lands along Terminal Avenue. In addition, Finning has donated the remainder of its Flats lands along Great Northern Way to the educational consortium of UBC, SFU, BCIT, and Emily Carr.

Given the important role that the Flats' rail yards play in moving goods and passengers, and noticing the growth and change in the area, it has become increasingly important to understand the future needs and plans for rail in the Flats. In the context of the proposed planning program for the Flats (see concurrent report "Planning the False Creek Flats"), undertaking a comprehensive rail study will contribute to the future health of the area.

Lower Mainland Rail Corridor Studies

The Great Vancouver Gateway Council (GVGC), in partnership with Transport Canada, GVTA, the Port of Vancouver, the Class 1 railways (CN, BNSF, and CPR) as well as BC Rail and BC Southern Railway, is currently planning a study of the entire rail transportation system of the Lower Mainland. The GVGC is taking the lead on this project. The first of three critical rail corridors to be examined is the line extensively used by CN and BNSF (see Appendix B). This rail corridor extends from the Burrard Inlet, where it serves the Port's commodity and container terminals, through the False Creek Flats and the Grandview Cut to the New Westminster Rail Bridge (NWRB). The line continues south of the NWRB through Delta and Surrey to the United States border.

The purpose of this first corridor study is to determine the feasibility of operational or infrastructure improvements to the CN and BNSF corridor to eliminate congestion and/or increase capacity to accommodate the anticipated growth in rail services. The scope of work includes determining the current and projected traffic volumes of both a passenger and freight nature, identifying key bottlenecks, and recommending enhancements to rail operations or infrastrucuture along the corridor. The need to upgrade or replace the NWRB with a new bridge or tunnel concept will be examined in this study.

However, while this information would be useful to better understand the City's portion of the overall rail corridor, it does not clearly examine the City's rail needs with respect to continuing to serve the Downtown, the Port, and the False Creek Flats and how to respond to the emerging development pressures occurring in the area.

Additional Scope of Work for the False Creek Flats

In addition to the Port of Vancouver, each of the Class 1 railways and passenger rail providers currently operating in the False Creek Flats will be fully participating in the rail corridor studies. Acquiring current and reasonably predictable projections of rail trafficvolumes without the direct involvement of such key stakeholders is often problematic and difficult to obtain. As such, rather than the City undertake its own rail study, it is recommended that the City jointly participate in this first rail corridor study, subject to an expansion of the scope of work to include the above mentioned City issues.

The following more specific details should be included in the terms of reference:

· Provide a general assessment of how the current rail system is being used in the Flats
· Demand analysis of current and projected passenger and freight train traffic
· Identify the operational or infrastructure constraints of the existing rail network
· Recommend solutions on how the network could best accommodate the projected demand (i.e. operational improvements, shared access, additional infrastructure, etc.)
· Identify which tracks need to be indefinitely preserved to continue serving the Port
· Identify underutilized opportunities for improving rail capacity including the feasibility of developing a False Creek Flats passenger rail transportation hub
· Identify rail rationalization scenarios and implications on trucking goods movement

It is expected that the request for proposals for the rail corridor study (including the False Creek Flats) will be issued to consultants by the Greater Vancouver Gateway Council upon Council approval of the additional scope and funding. The study could then be completed by the end of this year.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The total cost of the proposed rail corridor study including the City's additional scope of work for the False Creek Flats is estimated to be $250,000. It is recommended the City cost-share with the current project partners for 20% or $50,000 of the project. Funding of $50,000 is available in the 2003 Contingency Reserve.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This report describes the opportunity for the City to participate in a rail corridor study that would examine the growth in passenger and freight rail traffic into the False Creek Flats and identify any potential operational or infrastructure improvements. The City's share of the project would be $50,000 funded from the 2003 Contingency Reserve.

 

LINK TO APPENDICES A & B

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pe20030724.htm

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