ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: April 6, 1998

Author/Local: M.Gordon/7665

E. Barth/7295

CC File No. 8108

TO:	Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Central Area Planning
SUBJECT:	Downtown Granville Street and Mall Study

RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Central Area Planning undertake the revitalization study of downtown Granville Street and Mall, described in this report, as soon as staff resources become available to do this work, expected to be early in 1999; and further that $25,500 be approved in the 1999 budget (subject to the availability of funds and Council priorities) for public meetings and surveys.

As an alternative to Recommendation A, staff submit the following for the CONSIDERATION of Council:

B.THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Central Area Planning undertake the first phase of the revitalization study of downtown Granville Street and Mall in 1998; and that $136,000, as an addition to the 1998 Operating Budget, be approved for additional staffing, public meetings, surveys and related resources for this work to proceed immediately.

GENERAL MANAGERS’ COMMENTS

The General Managers of Community Services and Engineering Services note that the Granville Mall in its present configuration plays a critical role in the downtown transit system. Changing this role to include general traffic is a decision which requires study and careful consideration. As well, a substantial public capital investment would be required to change the function of this street. Resources to do the required analytic work are not available at present, and construction dollars would have to wait for the next capital plan in any event. In the meantime, other initiatives on the Mall should be given the chance to work without the confounding influence of another radical change.

The General Managers of Community Services and Engineering Services RECOMMEND A.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council has established priorities for transportation modes in order to provide a balanced transportation system. The transportation priorities are as follows: pedestrians first, followed by cycling, transit, goods movement, and automobiles.

On February 4, 1992, Council instructed that any recommendations for increased staff or enhanced programmes be accompanied by recommendations for related revenue increases or offsetting expenditure reduction.

SUMMARY

The Vancouver Downtown Business Improvement Association and the Downtown Vancouver Association has sponsored a study (prepared by Hotson-Bakker Architects) presenting options for reopening the Granville Mall to automobile and other traffic as a strategy for revitalizing the street. The study includes four options for the configuration of Granville Street. Other groups such as the Theatre Row Business Association have expressed opposition to this proposal.

Staff recommend a two phase study which builds on the conclusions of the Hotson-Bakker Study. The first phase will evaluate the Hotson-Bakker study options and, if necessary, prepare further options for the configuration of the street. This work should be done within the context of a Downtown Transportation Plan and in particular the requirements for transit and pedestrian movement, the impacts on retailing and the functioning of Granville Street as an entertainment district with a high concentration of theatres, bars, cabarets, restaurantsand retailing. An assessment of impacts on retailing is recommended to supplement this study. At the conclusion of the first phase, Council will choose an option for the configuration and use of Granville Street and a preferred approach for financing the necessary public works, based upon technical work, staff recommendations and input from the public, interested groups and other parties such as BC Transit.

Should Council favour significant changes, the second phase of the study will prepare detailed development plans and costs for the preferred option and implementation strategies.

Staff recommend that this study be initiated in 1999 when existing staff will be available and the first stages of the Downtown Transportation Study provide a technical information base, and a policy and transportation planning context for planning the future of the street. A budget of $25,500 is proposed for consultants and public consultation. Should Council favour the immediate initiation of the study, temporary staff and funds for a consultant and public consultation are recommended requiring additional funding of $136,000.

PURPOSE

This report provides Council with background on the development of the Granville Mall, and describes recent initiatives that have been undertaken in this area or are currently underway. A two phase study of the revitalization of 400 to 900 blocks of Granville Street is proposed in the report along with alternatives for the implementation of this study.

BACKGROUND

Granville Street was reconfigured as a pedestrian/transit mall in 1974 as an initiative to revitalize retail activity, improve transit movements and pedestrianize a portion of the downtown. In February of 1988, following a six month trial opening of the Mall to traffic, Council decided to reopen the 900 block (Nelson to Smithe) to automobile traffic and to widen it to four lanes. It was also decided to retain the remainder of the transit/pedestrian mall as it was.

To date Council or staff have undertaken the following initiatives for Granville Street:

·created the new Downtown South residential neighbourhood that surrounds Granville Street, by approving new zoning and public investment, that will create a local consumer base for Granville Street;

·adjusted zoning (density and scale regulations) on Granville Street to reflect the streets character;

·approved an entertainment district for the 700, 800 and 900 blocks with the introduction of up to 1000 liquor licensed seats;

·completed a business revitalization assessment;

·designated it as a key retail street and pedestrian route as part of the Greenway/Public Ways routes;

·implemented streetscape improvements in partnership with the DVBIA by:

- reducing the incidence of graffiti

- reducing litter on the street

- addressing issues related to street furniture;

·completed a survey of sidewalk conditions and street lighting levels; and

·implemented an entertainment district transportation study.

Currently, staff are completing, with the assistance of a consultant, amendments to the Sign By-law to enable larger, more colourful and, in particular, neon signs on Granville Street. A proposal for revised guidelines for storefronts and building facades is pending Council consideration. A proposal for noise notification for neighbours around Granville Street, in support of the entertainment district is also pending Council approval.

The effects of all these efforts are beginning to bring new life and revitalization to Granville Street as evidenced by the approval of three new pubs for the entertainment district, the construction of a new retail development at Davie and Granville Streets and a new office building between Dunsmuir and Pender Streets and several new businesses locating in vacant premises including the establishment of retail stores, commercial services and restaurants. The relocation of two cabarets to Granville Street is proposed pending Council and provincial approval. These trends are expected to continue as the surrounding area’s population increases and the entertainment district becomes established. Future initiatives should build on these efforts.

Last year the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and the Downtown Vancouver Association funded a study by Hotson-Bakker Architects, which identified options for reopening Granville Mall to automobile traffic. Further analysis and public dialogue can evolve positively from the Hotson-Bakker study.

On February 3, 1998, Council resolved:

THAT Engineering and Planning staff be requested to prepare a joint report back on a process proposal for Granville Street’s revitalization;

FURTHER THAT all parties wishing to speak on this item be given the opportunity at that time.

DISCUSSION

Issues

Further study, recommended in this report, would evaluate the four options for reopening the Granville Mall to automobile traffic, proposed by Hotson-Bakker, the option to leave it as a pedestrian and transit mall, and any other options that may emerge out of the analysis and public discussion. In the process of evaluating these options the following issues have to be taken into account when considering the future of Granville Mall.

(i) Downtown Transportation Planning

Staff will be reporting to Council on the development of the Downtown Transportation Plan mid-year with an anticipated start time of late Fall. The Plan could take up to a year to complete with major milestones completed in the interim. There is clearly a link between work done on reviewing and developing options for design and use of Granville Mall and the development of the Downtown Transportation Plan.

The development of a Downtown Transportation Plan will include a review of the role and function of all the streets in the downtown. This will involve understanding and rationalizing the inter-relationship of the various streets within the street network; understanding and rationalising the inter-relationship of the street network with the adjoining and future land uses; reviewing the need for the street network to accommodate existing and future bus and rail transit, pedestrian, cycling and general purpose (local and non-local) vehicular traffic.

To review options for the future of Granville Mall in isolation from some general transportation planning would be problematic because the study should take into consideration the Mall as part of the downtown street network. Therefore, the Granville Mall Study’s assumptions, conclusions and any recommendations should reflect those of the Downtown Transportation Plan. If Council wants the Mall study to commence immediately, then key assumptions about the requirements for downtown transportation (transit, other vehicles and pedestrians) will have to be made, which will at this time tend to be conservative so that downtown transportation options are kept as open as possible. These will be reflected in the work of the study.

(ii) Transit Capacity

Transit must accommodate a very significant proportion of the increase in person trips into and within the downtown. The Mall is integral to accommodating the majority of local Vancouver routes including trolley routes. Express buses from south of the Fraser River presently use Seymour and Howe Streets. In addition, there is potential for the Mall to accommodate some form of rail transit, which might involve the planned Broadway LRT, the heritage railway and/or LRT from Richmond.

It is critically important that adequate capacity and flexibility be provided on the portions of Granville Street currently configured as a Mall to accommodate transit growth. Therefore, staff recommend that, in the absence of a Downtown Transportation Plan, the study identify a certain capacity for transit up front as an assumption for the study. Staff will report back on establishing this assumption.

(iii) Pedestrian Movement and Capacity

The Mall is quickly emerging as the entertainment district of the downtown as envisaged by Council. It has also been designated in the Downtown zoning as a key pedestrian retail street and by the Greenway Plan as an important pedestrian route. Granville Street is emerging as a key route for residents, workers and visitors moving through the downtown and the Central Business District, to other retail areas (e.g. Robson Street, Hastings Street and Davie Street), major entertainment facilities such as BC Place Stadium and GM Place and the West End and the growing communities of False Creek North, Granville Slopes and Downtown South. Significant pedestrian demand can be expected and must be accommodated on adequately wide sidewalks for pedestrian flow and crowds, line-ups for theatres and nightclubs, pubs and bars and those waiting for buses. The Granville Street right-of-way is limited by street wall buildings in place, so the various transit and pedestrian demands must ultimately be balanced off against any portion of the street provided for general purpose traffic, should the Mall be opened to traffic. Therefore, staff recommend that, in the absence of a Downtown Transportation Plan, the study identify a certain capacity for pedestrian activity up front as an assumption for the study. Staff will report back on establishing this assumption.

(iv) Cost

The cost of reopening Granville Mall to automobile traffic will be substantial. The cost of construction as well as its impact on retail and its disruption of transit service must be considered. The method of funding these costs will also have to be determined, including a mix of funds from the next capital plan and local improvement levies.

(v) Granville St. Revitalization

Opening the Mall to motor vehicles may or may not be a significant component to the revitalization of the street. The contribution of opening the Mall to such traffic needs to be further analysed as part of this study. To this end, discussions will be pursued with retailers, operators of entertainment facilities and other interested parties to identify the benefits and disbenefits of opening the Mall to traffic. Staff recommend that a retail impact assessment be initiated to understand the costs and benefits for retail and other businesses for reconstructing and opening Granville Mall.

Study Implementation

A decision needs to be made regarding when the Granville Mall study should be initiated. Council may want staff to undertake this study as part of the 1999 work program when resources can be freed up from other completed projects. In this case the study could be done with existing resources and staff would only be requesting $25,500 in additional funds to conduct the public consultation, data collection regarding pedestrian and vehicular traffic and retail impact assessment portion of the study. This funding request would be put forward as part of the normal 1999 budget process.

Alternatively, Council may direct staff to implement the study immediately in 1998. Neither Planning or Engineering have resources available to undertake this work within this year’s work program nor can offsets be identified to fund additional staffing and resources. Therefore, in order to implement this study in 1998, staff have identified new resources that would be needed for staff, consultants, public consultation and support functions for a total cost of $136,000. This is outlined fully in Appendix ‘A’.

In Engineering the revitalization study would require the significant involvement of one transportation engineer for the duration of the study as well as a second engineer part time over a six month period. Staff may be made available from the Strategic Transportation Planning Branch but this will require delaying the ongoing development of a monitoring program for the Vancouver Transportation Plan or reducing our participation in the development of transit priority measures in the City or deferring the startup of the review of building lines in the City. The issue of staffing is complicated by the uncertainty around the resources required to participate in the study of the Broadway LRT line. On balance, a new team of two engineering staff will be needed to proceed now, unless the work identified above is deferred

In Planning, staff are fully committed to existing work programmes. Staff considered the deferral of current projects but concluded that work on City involvement in transportation planning, East Downtown Planning, the Trade and Convention Centre, Southeast False Creek and False Creek North, as well as other key work, could not be deferred unless direction isreceived on this from Council. A team of a Planner (policy development) and a Planning Assistant (technical work and organizing public consultation) would be needed for a six month period to undertake the work in 1998.

The ability to provide staff to review the Granville Mall without deferring other presently scheduled work is problematic. Going to consultants to complete the work, except for completing specific tasks, is equally problematic. There is a pool of resources available in the private sector to draw on for a short period to either work directly on the project (as consultants) or to backfill existing staff position(s). However, our experience has been that significant effort from existing staff is required to either work with, direct and review the work of a consultant, or to train additional staff.

Study Phasing

Whenever, the study commences, it is proposed that it be done in the following two phases.

(i)Phase One - The Review and Development of Options and Choosing a Preferred Option

During the first phase of the study, various cross-section options (including those developed in the DVBIA Granville Mall Study) will be evaluated and Council may wish to choose an option for Granville Street. Stakeholders will be involved in preparing and evaluating the options. The review and development of options will include consideration of retail impacts, engineering costs, alternatives for transit, pedestrian requirements, and consequences to the transportation network. There will be an open house over several evenings to provide the general public an opportunity to view and comment on the options. Staff will report back with the options, an overview of public comments, staff analysis, and recommendations.

Phase One will conclude with Council consideration of the matter after hearing delegations. Council may wish to adopt and pursue a preferred option for further design development, detailed costing and implementation alternatives. Council will have to decide whether work should proceed on detailed design and implementation immediately or whether this work should be deferred pending confirmation of the consistency of a preferred option with longer range plans, such as the Downtown Transportation Plan or planning for transit initiatives. If Council resolves that implementation of changes to Granville Street can proceed without compromising options for longer range plans, then Phase Two can be initiated.

It is estimated that this phase will be about six months long, depending upon when work starts, the availability of stakeholder groups and the schedule for Council deliberations.

(ii) Phase Two - Detailed design, costing and implementation strategies

If the preferred option includes major change, during the second phase staff will pursue detailed design and costing and identify alternative implementation and funding strategies for the preferred option for the design. Stakeholder groups will be consulted for this work and a series of open houses will be held for the general public to review and comment on the detailed design of the preferred option.

Phase Two will conclude with Council considering the detailed design and recommended implementation strategies, after hearing delegations. It is estimated that this phase will take about five months. Should Council choose to reconfigure Granville Street, reconstruction could be initiated depending on the availability of capital funds and the consent of affected property owners and businesses for local improvement funding.

Public Perspectives

The following groups and stakeholders have expressed an interest in this issue and would be included in the public process:

- abutting property owners and businesses;

- the Downtown Vancouver Association;

- the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association;

- the Theatre Row Business Association;

- BC Transit;

- Better Environmentally Sustainable Transportation.

To date we have heard the following perspectives on the future of Granville Mall:

-providing private automobiles with access to Granville Street and the provision of on-street parking will assist in the revitalization of the street;

-the 1970s public realm improvements are dowdy and look dated and unattractive;

-the reintroduction of private automobiles to Granville Street could compromise transit movement and capacity through the downtown;

-pedestrians and transit should be priorities for use of the street, in conformance with City policy;

-reopening the Mall will not necessarily revitalize the street-portions of Granville Street which are already open to private automobiles and are not as vital and busy as the Theatre Row area of the Mall; and

-sidewalks should be of sufficient width to allow for heavy pedestrian volumes generated by the theatres, retail and the emerging entertainment district.

On March 15, 1998, the Theatre Row Business Association submitted a petition with 6,404 signatures urging Council to not open the Mall to automobile or other traffic.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Granville Street is a key route for pedestrians and transit. Changes to Granville Street which hinder transit operations and pedestrian movement will have negative environmental implications.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

If Council directs staff to undertake the study as part of the 1999 work program, it could be done with existing resources. In this case, staff would only be requesting $25,500 in additional funds to conduct the public consultation and retail impact assessment portion of the study. This funding request would be put forward as part of the normal 1999 budget process.

Neither Planning or Engineering have resources available to undertake the Granville Mall Revitalization study within this year’s work program nor can offsets be identified to fund additional staffing and resources. Therefore, if Council directs staff to implement this study in 1998, new resources would be needed for staff, consultant, public consultation and support functions for a total cost of $136,000. This is outlined fully in Appendix ‘A’.

CONCLUSION

Downtown organizations have expressed interest in reopening Granville Mall to automobile traffic. Other individuals and organizations have indicated opposition to this proposal. Staff recommend a study of the Mall which considers options for reconfiguring the Mall based on the Hotson-Bakker Study, as well as a clear understanding of downtown transportation requirements.

* * * * *

APPENDIX A

City Staff and Resources Needed for the Granville Street and Mall Study

A. Additional resources required to proceed in 1999 (Recommendation A)

Consultants - Retail Impact Study $10,000

Public Consultation

(evening meetings, surveys, overtime) $ 15,500

Total $25,500

B. Additional resources required to proceed in 1998 (Recommendation B)

Engineer (6 months) $ 34,100

Engineer (3 months) $ 17,000

Planner (6 months) $ 33,400

Planning Assistant (6 months) $ 23,000

Consultants

·Retail Impact Study $ 10,000

Computers $ 3,000 (for 6 months)

Public Consultation (evening meetings,

surveys, overtime) $ 15,500

Total $136,000

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver