CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON

TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC

APRIL 28, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Tuesday, April 28, 1998, at approximately 11:05 a.m. in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor George Puil Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Bereavement) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Denise Salmon

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

SECONDED by Cllr. Herbert,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on

Transportation and Traffic

April 28, 1998

Council considered the recommendation of the Committee, as contained in the following clause of the attached report:

Cl.1: Downtown Granville Street and Mall Study

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the recommendation of the Committee, as contained in Clause 1 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED

(Councillor Price opposed)

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

SECONDED by Cllr. Clarke,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ENQUIRIES AND OTHER MATTERS

1. Bereavement Leave - Councillor Chiavario File: 1254

MOVED by Cllr. Herbert,

SECONDED by Cllr. Daniel Lee,

THAT Councillor Chiavario be granted Bereavement Leave for the week, April 28-May 1, 1998.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

2. Leave of Absence - Councillor Kennedy File: 1254

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,

SECONDED by Cllr. Herbert,

THAT Councillor Kennedy be granted Leave of Absence for this morning's meeting, the Public Hearing this evening and the 30th of April, 1998.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Council adjourned at 11:10 a.m.

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REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

ON TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC

APRIL 28, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Transportation and Traffic was held on Tuesday, April 28, 1998, at approximately 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor Gordon Price, Chair Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor George Puil Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Bereavement) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Denise Salmon

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic meeting of April 7, 1998, were adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

1. Downtown Granville Street and Mall Study File: 8108

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated April 6, 1998 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Central Area Planning provided Council with two proposed alternatives for the implementation of a two phase study of the revitalization of the 400 to 900 blocks of Granville Street.

The following Recommendation A and Consideration Item B were put forward in the Administrative Report:

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.

Larry Beasley, Director, Central Area Planning, and Michael Gordon, Planner, Central Area Planning, provided Council with background on the development of Granville Mall, and described recent initiatives that have been undertaken in this area or are currently underway.

The following speakers addressed the Committee:

1. Ian Fisher, Transport 2000

2. Bill Lambert, Manager of Transportation Planning,

BC Transit

3. Don Buchanan, BEST (overhead presentation) (brief filed)

4. Tamim Raad (brief filed)

5. Sam Campbell, Downtown South Residents Association

6. John Fluevog, Theatre Row Business Association

7. Guy Wera

8. Lisa Scott, Transit Users Group (TUG)

9. Karen Peterson Ivanick, The Underground

10. Stuart Swain, Chair, Granville Street Task Force

11. Bob Cole, Granville Book Co.

12. Dave Harlow, Independent Canadian Transit Union

Comments provided by the foregoing are noted below:

·The Downtown Granville Street and Mall Study is in direct opposition to the Council adopted CityPlan, the Transportation Plan and Livable Region Goals of giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists and transit users

·The need to include the 1000-2000 block Granville in the study

·Due to potential conflict with the Downtown Transportation Plan process, and opposition to City Plan, Council was requested to not consider the report further, nor allocate any resources to the study

·If Council decides to pursue the study, a number of speakers voiced support for Recommendation A as set out above

·Granville Mall is the spine of BC Transit downtown services, and is required to maintain the safety and efficiency of its system

·Impacting transit operations in the Mall will mean fewer resources for transit service expansion

·The need to complete the study in context of the Downtown Transportation Study, with note the Mall is the central arterial for the proposed Vancouver-Richmond Rapid bus and terminus for the Broadway-Lougheed-Coquitlam LRT line

·Empty spaces, blank walls, poor sidewalks and outdated street furniture design and lighting on the Mall need to be addressed more so than the automobile

·The most vibrant parts of Granville Street are those along the Mall where cars are unable to travel; with the expansion of the Downtown Business Improvement Area into Granville Street and lifting of the liquor license moratorium, the area is already becoming revitalized

·Reopening the Mall would have adverse impacts, is costly, unwanted by local merchants, and will not deliver revitalization

·Citizens of Vancouver should be given the opportunity to decide the Mall's future by a vote at the next election

·If the Mall must be opened, only those from the 600 block north should be considered, as fewer properties face the street, and the entertainment district, whichis working well, would not be impacted

·Opening the Mall to cars would take away a unique and exciting public space in the City's core, as well as eliminate the good air quality afforded by trolley buses

·The Granville Street Task Force is not directly affiliated with the Downtown Vancouver Association or Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association; the Task Force was formed by a variety of stakeholders to address Mall issues

·The Granville Street Task Force was not provided ample notice to organize a meeting, fully evaluate the contents of the staff report, and respond to Council

·Local Improvement Initiatives need to be examined with respect to Granville Mall, with reconfiguration of the Mall for traffic a separate issue

·The following were noted with potential to impact the situation on Granville Street/Mall: Lions Gate Bridge, Night Clubs relocating to Granville, new Chapters Bookstore, reopening of the Commodore, approval of new liquor licenses and new Theatres Complex; Council was requested to adopt Recommendation A and postpone further study next year

·Cars are polluters

Comments Noted During Questions to the Speakers:

·The perceived insufficient notification time and need for broader circulation of the staff report, to allow all parties an opportunity to speak to this matter, was noted and deferral was suggested

·Various Council members spoke against the deferral motion, with note Recommendation A provides deferral of the project until 1999; reference was also made to Council's heavy schedule and difficulty finding a date for a second meeting

·Due to the number of initiatives currently underway in the area, Recommendation A would allow sufficient time to address forthcoming changes

·A member of Council spoke in opposition to Recommendation A, and suggested no further study be undertaken on the Hotson Bakker report; merchants, BC Transit and mall users have all stated their opposition to opening the Mall to automobiles

The following motion by Councillor Clark was put and lost.

THAT decision on this matter be deferred to allow other interested parties an opportunity to respond.

- LOST

(Councillors Bellamy, Herbert, Daniel Lee, Don Lee,

Price, Puil, Sullivan and Mayor Owen opposed)

The following motion by Councillor Puil was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of Central Area Planning undertake the revitalization study of downtown Granville Street and Mall, including, but not limited to, issues described in the Administrative Report dated April 6, 1998, 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.

- CARRIED

(Councillor Price opposed)

The Committee adjourned at 11:05 a.m.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver