ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 9, 1996
Dept. File No. 664 179
TO: Vancouver Traffic Commission
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: Plaza 500 - Bus Bays
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT a bus bay long enough for two tour buses be installed on
the south side of the 500 block of West 12th Avenue, in front
of the Plaza 500 Hotel, subject to the hotel funding the
construction costs (estimated to be $45,000) and installing
two alcoves in their retaining wall for temporary storage of
luggage.
CONSIDERATION
The following is submitted for consideration.
B. THAT the City pay 50% ($22,500) of the construction costs from
Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account Number
12/31/9813/999.
The General Manager does not support this request. The bay
would exist primarily to serve a single user, the Plaza 500
Hotel, and other hotels have addressed these needs on their
own sites.
COUNCIL POLICY
The City has assigned high transportation priorities to the pedestrian
and transit modes (of which tour buses are one component).
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide a solution to the problems
created when tour buses stop to unload passengers and block the
eastbound curb lane of West 12th Avenue.
BACKGROUND
Tour bus activity is increasing in Vancouver. This brings commerce to
the City, and is preferable to the much larger number of cars -2-
that would otherwise be present. However, it also brings some problems.
Tour bus loading and unloading can impact pedestrians, cars, and
bicycles, and should be done off-street, where possible. Unlike newer
hotels, the Plaza 500 is not equipped to handle buses off-street; its
parking facility is not strong enough to support a tour bus. This makes
it very difficult to provide bus access to the hotel, it has left bus
drivers with few options and most drivers choose to violate the No
Stopping regulations on 12th Avenue and drop passengers at the entrance
to the Plaza 500. The buses can take 15 minutes or more to load or
unload and this creates excessive delays and safety concerns on 12th
Avenue, and can contribute to short-cutting through the neighbourhood
south of 12th Avenue.
DISCUSSION
Staff at the Plaza 500 have suggested that a bus bay be constructed on
12th Avenue to remove buses from traffic. The initial option considered
was to rebuild the retaining wall and provide sidewalk space on Hotel
property. This would ensure that the sidewalk was maintained at an
optimum width. However, this was found to be impossible due to the
location of the Hotel lobby and entrance. The remaining option is to
use part of the sidewalk and part of the existing roadway to provide a
bay.
To completely remove buses from traffic a minimum of a 3.0m bay is
required. However, this would not leave enough width for a good
sidewalk. The suggested compromise is to provide a sub-standard 2.0m
(average) bay and leave 2.0m (6'8" ft.) for a sidewalk. (See Figure 1).
The proposed bay will remove buses from traffic. The existing traffic
lanes would be narrowed by 0.4 metres, but the curb lane of 3.65m will
still meet the minimum standard set out in the Comprehensive Bicycle
Plan.
It is recommended that the bay be long enough for 2 buses to stop, which
occurs on occasion and more frequently in the summer season.
It is also recommended that the Plaza 500 be required to provide two
alcoves in their retaining wall. The alcoves are needed to provide
temporary storage for luggage. Without this extra space, luggage would
periodically block the sidewalk.
Other options have been considered to reduce the problems on 12th
Avenue:
- Loading has been permitted west of the hotel driveway, a less
disruptive location, but bus drivers have declined to use it
because it is too far from the hotel entrance.
-3-
- Providing a bus facility on the hotel property was considered, but
the only available space is on the structure deck of the hotel,
which cannot support the weight of a bus. Barring major
redevelopment of the site, this option is not feasible.
- A further option is to have the bus bay on Cambie Street instead of
12th Avenue. However, there is a BC Transit bus stop on Cambie at
this corner. Furthermore, the sidewalk on Cambie is not as wide
and there is not room for a bay.
- The final option is to step up enforcement of the No Stopping
regulation. However, this would not change the behaviour of
drivers since they need to have close access to the Hotel and do
not have other options. This also does not solve the basic problem
of providing bus access to the hotel.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The bus bay is estimated to cost $45,000. Typically, hotels provide bus
bays off-street, with their own resources. In this case the only option
is to use City right-of-way to provide the bay. Similar to other
instances where streets have been rebuilt to accommodate abutting uses,
the cost should be attributed to the property owner.
The Plaza 500 notes that the City as a whole would benefit with a bay
since congestion on 12th Avenue would be reduced. Therefore, they have
asked that the City pay for a portion of the costs. This request is
submitted for Council's consideration. If cost-sharing is approved, 50%
($22,500) would be funded from Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated
Account Number 12/31/9813/999.
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