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CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT |
Report Date: |
March 1, 2005 | |
Author: |
Douglas Scott | |
Phone No.: |
604.873.7155 | |
RTS No.: |
04973 | |
CC File No.: |
5767 | |
Meeting Date: |
April 12, 2005 |
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services |
SUBJECT: |
Central Valley Greenway Development - Consultant Services |
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT, subject to the conditions set out in Recommendations B, C, and D, a Professional Services Agreement be entered into with PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. to provide design development, design, costing and construction management services for the planned Central Valley Greenway Sections 1, 2, and 3 at a total cost of $433,020 (plus any applicable GST and PST) with funding provided from the Street Basic Capital Account CB2EA6D.
B. THAT the required Professional Services Agreement is to be in a form which is satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services and General Manager of Engineering Services.
C. THAT upon approval of the Professional Services Agreement pursuant to Recommendation B above, the Director of Legal Services and General Manager of Engineering Services be authorized to execute and deliver same on behalf of City Council.
D. THAT no services are to provided by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. and no legal rights or obligations will be created or arise by Council's adoption of these Recommendations unless and until the Professional Services Agreement has been executed and delivered by the City and PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc.
E. THAT the Central Valley Greenway public process and design proceed and that the design not include a traffic closure on Grandview Highway North between Clark Drive and Commercial Drive.
CONSIDERATION
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Engineering Services has met with the proponents of the proposed Millennium Peace Park. Despite this group's desire to create this Park the Engineering Department is unable to support the proposal to close this arterial street. Grandview Highway North, between Clark Drive and Commercial Drive provides an important arterial function. Closure would result in significant impacts on Broadway which is one of the most significant transit routes in the City as well as requiring extensive traffic calming measures in the neighbourhood to prevent shortcutting. The affected neighbourhood extends from Broadway to 1st Avenue and from Clark Drive to Commercial Drive. These impacts are further described in the Discussion section of this report.
It is important for Council to make a decision on this issue now, so that the Greenway design can proceed in a timely manner to ensure that the design and construction work is completed within the timeframe for funding under the Transportation Showcase program.
If Council does not support recommendation E above then the General Manager of Engineering Services provides the following Consideration item F as an alternative. It is important to note that the neighbourhood consultation work involved in designing and implementing a traffic calming plan is a significant work item and can not be achieved in the required timeframe without deferring other significant work from the program of the Neighbourhood Transportation Branch.
F. THAT the Central Valley Greenway public process and design proceed on the basis that a traffic closure on Grandview Highway North between Clark Drive and Commercial Drive be included, and that staff report back on what work items would be deferred to accommodate this work.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council must authorize the appointment of consultants whose fees exceed $30,000.
On July 18, 1995, Council adopted the Vancouver Greenways Plan. The Central Valley Greenway was one of fourteen citywide greenways identified in the Plan.
On October 5, 1999 Council approved that Grandview Highway North be removed from the City's Truck Route network to accommodate development of the Central Valley Greenway.
On February 24, 2004 City Council approved $4.63 million for the Federal Government's Urban Transportation Showcase Program, including the design and construction of the Central Valley Greenway.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend consultants to provide services for the design and construction management of the Central Valley Greenway (CVG): PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. for CVG Sections 1, 2, and 3.
BACKGROUND
Overview
In the 1995 Vancouver Greenway Plan the CVG was identified as one of the City's fourteen citywide Greenways. In addition, the CVG is a significant component of the GVRD's Regional Greenways Plan connecting Vancouver with Burnaby and New Westminster.
A portion of the CVG was to be located within the Grandview Cut. The Cut was also identified by the Province's Rapid Transit Project 2000 (RTP2000) as the location for the new Millennium SkyTrain. The City negotiated a compensation package with the Province for the use of the Cut, which included some funding towards development of the CVG. Using some of this funding a portion of the CVG on Grandview Highway North (GHN) between Commercial Drive and Slocan Street was completed in 2003.
The design and construction of the CVG has been divided into two Requests for Proposals (RFP) which are attached in Appendix A.
· The first RFP is for CVG Sections 1 and 2. CVG Section 1 - Science World to Station Street begins at the Seaside Greenway/Bikeway at Science World, travels along Terminal Avenue between Quebec and Station Streets, then south along Station Street to meet the existing greenway at the lane south of Terminal Avenue. CVG Section 2 - Clark Drive Bridge to Commercial Drive begins at the Clark Drive Bridge, crosses Clark Drive and travels along GHN to meet the existing greenway just east of Commercial Drive.
· The second RFP is for CVG Section 3 - Slocan Street to Boundary Road. This section begins at the eastern end of the existing greenway on GHN and Slocan Street, travels east under the Skytrain guideway to Renfrew Station, along Hebb Avenue to Lillooet Street, then continues under the guideway to Boundary Road.
Urban Transportation Showcase Program
In 2001 the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (GVTA) applied for a grant from Transport Canada under the Urban Transportation Showcase Program (UTS Program). The UTS Program is a key component of the Federal Government's Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change and was developed to encourage cities to adopt more energy-efficient transportation, land use patterns and practices, and to demonstrate, evaluate, and promote air quality improvements and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The GRVD and GVTA application is made up of a variety of projects throughout the region of which six are in Vancouver, including the CVG. On November 26, 2003 the Federal Government announced that the GVRD and GVTA's proposal had been chosen to receive up to $8.8 million in funding, a portion of which will be directed to the CVG. Funding for the CVG is being shared by the Federal Government, the GVTA and the City. The cost sharing agreement between the Federal Government and the GVTA was completed in late 2004 and the subsequent agreement between the GVTA and the City was finalized in early 2005. To ensure that the City projects are eligible for cost sharing all projects must be completed and reports submitted to the GVTA by December 2006.
Traffic Calming on GHN - Victoria Drive to Clark Drive
In 2000, the City's Rapid Transit Office (RTO), in collaboration with the RTP2000, undertook a traffic calming study of GHN between Victoria and Clark Drives. The study was divided into two sections, Victoria Drive to Commercial Drive, and Commercial Drive to Clark Drive.
Staff reported the results of the study to Council on July 31, 2001. The traffic calming plan between Victoria Drive and Commercial Drive was completed and is mostly installed. The portion between Commercial Drive and Clark Drive was partially completed and some future changes are likely as a result of the CVG public consultation and design. This issue is discussed further under the Discussion section.
DISCUSSION
Consultant Proposals
Proposals for consultant services for the design, construction administration and inspection of the CVG Sections 1 and 2, and CVG Section 3 were requested from seven consultant teams lead by landscape architects in collaboration with engineers and planners. Six companies provided proposals for CVG Sections 1 and 2, and six companies provided proposals for CVG Section 3.
The General Manager of Engineering Services recommends that PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. be awarded the work for CVG Sections 1 and 2, and for CVG Section 3. This decision is based on the submissions which provide the best quality and value to the City. PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. is a Vancouver based consulting firm who have demonstrated a high level of work in this field locally and internationally. Their previous experience with the design and supervision of large multi-disciplinary projects make them ideal candidates for this work. The fees for the consultant are within our budget for this project.
The consultant's appointment will be subject to the execution of a Professional Services Agreement satisfactory to the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of Legal Services.
Greenway Consultation, Design and Construction Schedule
Public consultation and design of the greenway for all three sections of the CVG will begin this spring, with construction beginning early in 2006. The funding agreement between the City and the GVTA requires that all work be completed and that all reports be submitted to the GVTA by December 2006. In order to stay on schedule and meet the funding requirements the public consultation and design phase for all three sections of the CVG should be complete in the next twelve months, with construction completed by November 2006.
Grandview Highway North Closure
At the September 27th, 2005 meeting of the City's Peace and Justice Committee the Committee supported in principle the creation of a Millennium Peace Park adjacent to the Grandview/U'uqinak'uuh Elementary School. Development of this park as currently proposed would require the closure of a portion of GHN between the lanes west of Commercial Drive and Woodland Drive, and between Woodland Drive and McLean Drive. A similar proposal to close this section of Grandview Highway was not approved by Council in 2001 however there is still a group in the neighbourhood advocating for this closure.
There are a number of issues related to the possible closing of the street, including the following points:
1. This portion of street is part of the City's arterial network, and carries substantial volumes of traffic. The role of this street as an arterial was confirmed in the City Transportation Plan and in the earlier discussions on the Greenway. In recognition of the fact that it passes Grandview/U'uqinak'uuh Elementary School, the City has previously installed traffic calming and a marked zebra crosswalk at the intersection of Woodland Drive as part of the Mosaic Bikeway.
2. Traffic counts indicate that there is already a high volume of traffic on the residential streets in this community and a traffic study done in 2001 which included discussions with the community and the school indicated that a closure here was not beneficial to the whole neighbourhood (See attached graphic from 2001 public consultation and attached report from June 22, 2001 RTS 2153, specifically CONSULTATION on page 3 of 4.)
3. Diversion of the traffic on GHN would increase congestion east of the Broadway/Clark Drive intersection due to a significant increase in the demand for Westbound to Northbound right turns, with resultant delays to transit on the heavily used Broadway bus route.
4. In the absence of comprehensive diversionary traffic calming measures, shortcutting through the neighbourhood would increase significantly.
5. To do the traffic calming plan and public consultation associated with closing an arterial street at the same time as the CVG process would require the diversion of staff resources from existing approved projects.
6. Parents driving to the Grandview/U'uqinak'uuh Elementary School would use local, residential streets in the 1500-1600 blocks 4th, 5th and 6th Avenues off Commercial Drive, adding to traffic on those streets.
7. Delaying the CVG until staff are available to do the traffic calming plan and public consultation associated with closing an arterial street would prevent the CVG from being completed by the end of 2006. Based on our funding contracts for this project, this delay would result in the loss of Federal funding.
Should Council decide to proceed further with the proposal to close GHN at this location, it is recommended that Council instruct staff to report back on the staffing and current project impacts to do this work in conjunction with the CVG, as per Consideration F.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
CVG Sections 1 and 2
Based on the personnel hours and fees estimated by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., the consultant services for the work will require funding of $204,625, excluding City overhead, a contingency, and GST.
CVG Section 3
Based on the personnel hours and fees estimated by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., the consultant services for the work will require funding of $228,395, excluding City overhead, a contingency, and GST.
The funding requested is considered reasonable for this work. Funds are available from the Street Basic Capital Account CB2EA6D.
UTS Program Funding
Schedule delays to any of the projects in Vancouver could affect the funding agreement between the City, the GVTA and the Federal Government.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommend that Council approve the appointment of PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., at a cost of $433,020 for the CVG Sections 1, 2 and 3 to assist in the public consultation, design and construction management of the Central Valley Greenway. Staff also recommend that GHN between Commercial Drive and Clark Drive remain open for traffic.
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: June 22, 2001
Author/Local: W. Pledger/7346
RTS No. 2153
CC File No. 5757
T&T: July 31, 2001
TO: |
Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services in consultation with the Director of City Plans |
SUBJECT: |
Grandview Highway North - Greenway/Bikeway Planning |
| |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve the traffic calming plan for Grandview Highway North between Victoria and Clark drives for permanent construction as outlined in this report.
B. THAT Council approve $30,000 from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 30000134 (City Greenway) for temporary staff to design and conduct public consultation of the Central Valley Greenway/bikeway on Grandview Highway North between Commercial and Clark drives.
C. THAT staff continue to work with residents and the Rapid Transit Project 2000 on the Central Valley Greenway/Bikeway between Victoria and Clark drives and report back.
COUNCIL POLICY
On July 18, 1995, Council adopted the Vancouver Greenways Plan, which identified the Grandview Cut corridor for future Greenway development.
The City of Vancouver Transportation Plan, approved by Council on May 27, 1997, identified Grandview Highway North from Clark Drive to Victoria as having potential for increased priority for pedestrians, cycling and transit.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend a traffic calming plan for Grandview Highway North that will form part of the new Greenway/bikeway that is being developed as part of the Millennium SkyTrain Line. As well, the report recommends approval of additional City funding to complete the design and public process leading to a final report back on the design and remaining City cost to complete the Greenway/bikeway.
BACKGROUND
The City has been working with Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd. (RTPO) on the planning and design of the Millennium SkyTrain Line within Vancouver.
On December 15, 1999, TransLink approved the deletion of Grandview Highway North from the Vancouver truck route network following a Council recommendation of October 5, 1999.
On February 1, 2000, Council approved construction of a Greenway/bikeway on Grandview Highway North as part of an amenity package the Province will be providing the City.
On March 14, 2000, Council approved a traffic calming plan for Grandview Highway North from Slocan Street to Victoria Drive as part of the Greenway/bikeway. The Province is designing the landscaping elements of this portion of the Greenway/bikeway and is scheduled to begin construction of the traffic calming and landscaping elements this Fall.
DISCUSSION
Traffic calming elements remain to be approved by Council for Grandview Highway North between Clark Drive and Broadway/Victoria. This remaining portion can be divided into two sections as follows:
1. Between Victoria and Commercial, the Province is committed to design and construct the Greenway/Bikeway. See Appendix `A' for the recommended traffic calming design.
2. Between Commercial and Clark, the City is responsible for the design and construction of the Greenway/bikeway with a $300 000 contribution from the Province as part of the Amenity Package. A traffic calming plan will be presented when Council considers this report.
The intent of traffic calming along this section is to exclude trucks from entering at either end, and by virtue of this design, discourage, but not exclude other through traffic. In addition, to further control speeds along the street and provide additional area for Greenway landscaping, the street will be narrowed in places by removing the parking lane. As well, a much-improved cycling environment will be provided through the elimination of trucks, a reduction in the volume and speed of general traffic, and the provision of painted bike lanes.
This balanced accommodation of improving the cycling and pedestrian environment but still accommodating some through traffic recognizes that Grandview Highway North in this area must continue to function as an integral part of the street system. Broadway cannot accommodate an increase in traffic; it is especially important to minimize traffic increases at Broadway and Commercial where there will be many more buses turning through this intersection once the Millennium SkyTrain line opens.
As well, it also recognizes that further restrictions on Grandview Highway North could result in some through traffic diverting through the residential area to the north on either side of Commercial Drive and around Grandview Elementary School at Woodland Drive.
West of Clark Drive
Staff is still exploring options between Clark Drive and the False Creek flats. A consultant study is underway on the feasibility and cost of a bridge structure. This consultancy is also exploring the feasibility of a ramp option on the south side of the Grandview Cut. Staff will be reporting to Council on the results of this study.
CONSULTATION
Traffic Calming between Commercial and Clark
Two public meetings were held in the neighbourhood to discuss traffic calming in this area: one at the Grandview Elementary School on September 26, 2000 and another at Queen Alexandra Elementary School on November 30, 2000, as part of a forum on Greenway options west of Commercial Drive. In addition, there were meetings with representatives of the Vancouver School Board and Grandview Elementary School to discuss their proposal to close Grandview Highway North at the school from Woodland to McLean, to allow for an expansion of teaching and gardening facilities.
A number of residents and school representatives felt there should be more diversionary elements along the street to eliminate through traffic. However, after discussing the potential impacts, they agreed they could support keeping Grandview Highway North open to non-local traffic rather than risk short cutting through the residential neighbourhood and around the school.
Traffic Calming between Victoria and Commercial
A number of meetings were held with nearby residents to discuss traffic calming along this section of Grandview Highway North, as well as TransLink's proposal for a crew room/washroom for their bus drivers.
The initial design of the Greenway/bikeway included a major traffic calming element at Broadway to reduce westbound through traffic and to physically prevent trucks from turning onto Grandview Highway. The Greenway/bikeway was shown on the south side of Grandview Highway North.
The neighbours wanted the Greenway to help address the impact of buses on Grandview Highway North. They also wanted to resolve the continuing eastbound shortcutting problem that exists in the lane south of 8th Avenue. As well, they raised the closure of Grandview Highway North westbound at Broadway to eliminate through traffic.
These discussions resulted in adding a median to eliminate shortcutting traffic in the lane and creating a wide boulevard on the north side of Grandview (moving the Greenway across the street) to accommodate a more substantial landscaping buffer between the residents and the buses. Staff was not supportive of the complete closure of Grandview Highway North due to the impacts this would have on the Broadway/Commercial intersection and the potential for increased traffic in the neighbourhood to the north.
A number of options for the TransLink crew facility were reviewed and discarded. The residents recognized the need for a facility given the lack of nearby options. Following these discussions, the crew facility will be a small building south of Grandview Highway and east of Commercial Drive.
Additional Consultation
Additional consultation with local residents will be undertaken in both sections to review the landscape elements of the Greenway/bikeway.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION
The Greenway/bikeway work between Victoria and Commercial is fully funded by the Rapid Transit Project.
The section between Commercial and Clark is not. The Access Agreement provides
$300 000 that may be applied:
· To improvements to the Greenway/Bikeway from Commercial Drive west; or
· To other improvements under the existing SkyTrain guideway between 10th and 12th Avenues; or
· To other Greenway connections between Commercial and Clark.
Staff concludes that the $300 000 Provincial contribution should be spent improving the cyclist and pedestrian connections between Commercial and Clark. However, this will likely not fund all the Greenway/bikeway improvements. Following public consultation on the Greenway/bikeway design, staff will report back on the additional City funding required to complete and maintain the work.
Staff recommends that Council approve $30,000 from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 3000134 (City Greenway) for public consultation and design of the Central Valley Greenway/bikeway on Grandview Highway North between Commercial and Clark (See Recommendation B).
CONCLUSION
The public has been consulted on the traffic calming elements of the Greenway/bikeway between Victoria and Clark and is supportive of the proposed work. Staff recommends that Council approve the street design concepts to a permanent standard. Further discussions with the community will be undertaken on the design of the Greenway/bikeway. Staff will then report back on the final design, and on the necessary City funds to complete the western segment from Commercial Drive to Clark Drive.
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