ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: April 30, 1998

Author/Local:D.Henderson/7343

F.Ducote7795

CC File No. 5559

TO:	Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of City Plans
SUBJECT:	Broadway-Lougheed Light Rapid Transit Alignment Options

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the following potential alignment options not be studied further and be removed from further consideration:

·East of Broadway/Commercial Station

-Grandview Highway/12th Avenue

·West of Broadway/Commercial Station

-12th Avenue
-back alleys, north or south of Broadway
-2nd Avenue/6th Avenue
-False Creek Rail Line
-Terminal Avenue
-10th Avenue east of Yukon
-8th Avenue west of Ash

COUNCIL POLICY

Council endorsed Transport 2021, which recommends an Intermediate Capacity Transit System from Lougheed Mall to Vancouver’s Broadway business district as one of five such systems. April 1994

Council recommended to the GVRD, Province, and BC Transit that a Broadway/Lougheed line to Lougheed Mall and Coquitlam Town Centre via Port Moody be the first priority line to the Northeast sector. May 1995

Council endorsed the GVRD Livable Region Strategy which recommends the construction of Light Rapid Transit System from Coquitlam to the Central Broadway area of Vancouver as one of three priority LRT routes. June 1996

Council approved the Transportation Plan which included the following specific recommendations:

3.4(4)The City supports a minimum of three new LRT lines: the Broadway-Lougheed line to SkyTrain and on to Granville, and eventually to UBC; Richmond to Downtown; and New Westminster to North East Sector. LRT within the city should be designed and implemented to serve the needs of city riders as well as others. Overall transit services within these corridors should be enhanced as a result of the LRT, and convenient, local access to transit maintained. (Actions T4 and T5) May 1997

Council on April 28, 1998 approved a set of guiding principles for the development of a light rapid transit line on the Broadway Corridor (see Appendix A).

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to review preliminary background information on potential alignment options suggested by the Provincial LRT Project Team and to reduce the number of options to be studied.

BACKGROUND

The Livable Region Strategic Plan, Transport 2021 and the City’s Transportation Plan all support the concept of a Light Rapid Transit Line in the Broadway Corridor.

An LRT Project Team has been established by the Provincial government. The LRT Project Team Work Program includes a five step process (see Appendix B):

1.Identification of route options and issues April 30, 1998
2.Short list route and station location options June 30, 1998
3.Decision on preferred route and station location option Oct. 30, 1998
4.Functional Design and Mitigation Plans - Preliminary Version Feb. 28, 1999
5.Final Report - decide on proceeding with project Mar. 31, 1999

There is an essential difference between Vancouver’s built-up character, where transit service is most important, and the outlying municipalities of Burnaby, etc., where shaping of urban form is required to develop ridership. Accordingly, the LRT Project Team plans to award separate contracts for consultant teams in Vancouver and the rest of the system. In addition, two "stand-alone projects" are proposed in Vancouver:

a)a special urban design study of the Broadway/Commercial Station area; and
b)a terminus design study at the western end of the line in the vicinity of Granville or Arbutus.

On April 28, 1998 Council reviewed several issues with regard to the Broadway/Lougheed LRT Line, including:

·a set of principles to guide LRT route planning, listed in Appendix A
·the need to establish a City work plan and staffing
·the need to review the LRT Project public consultation plan
·negotiation of staff secondments to the LRT Project
·the need to review development applications and rezonings in the Corridor
·a need to alter the project timetable to allow for adequate public consultation

DISCUSSION

The LRT Project Team has identified alternative alignments for the Broadway/Lougheed LRT Line as an initial step in the route planning process. These are shown in Appendix C. Over the following months, a shorter list of options will be studied in detail.

In a cooperative working relationship, City staff have initiated discussions on project issues with the LRT Project representatives. The subject of route alignment is one of the areas given a preliminary review.

In order to assist the process of developing a list of options, a City staff committee composed of Engineering and Planning staff met to identify a range of route options for both the sections east and west of Broadway/Commercial Station. These options included a Broadway alignment and more creative suggestions such as parallel streets and a rear lane option. From this list, summaries of each option for the two Vancouver sections were produced.

Each option is briefly described (see Appendix C). The details about how each fits into the right-of-way including grade separations have not been determined. For example, there may be variations within the alignment such as whether the route would either be in the centre of the street or at curb side. This level of detail is not available at this preliminary stage of review. This review of variations is planned for the June to October 1998 time period.

For each option a series of "pros" and "cons" has been listed that roughly address Council’s guiding principles. Because of the preliminary nature of the analysis, no value assessment has been established for the attributes; therefore, some items could be more significant than others. To reach a level where relative values can be established among the project attributes for comparison purposes, a much more extensive evaluation is required by the LRT consultants, in consultation with the public.

It is expected that the consultant team will provide a level of analysis necessary to provide a comparison of short-listed options. Prior to undertaking this detailed analysis, however, it is appropriate to reduce the number of options being considered, by eliminating those that are clearly not viable. For example, 12th Avenue is narrow, tree-lined, largely residential and carries high volumes of through traffic. Another example would be 2nd Avenue or Terminal Avenue and the False Creek Rail Line, which are simply too remote from the primary corridor and job locations. The locations recommended for deletion from the list have limited positive factors’ and to continue the review could unnecessarily raise levels of concern within adjacent communities.

The options that are recommended for removal from the list are:

·East of Broadway/Commercial Station

-Grandview Highway/12th Avenue

·West of Broadway/Commercial Station

-12th Avenue
-back alleys, north or south of Broadway
-2nd Avenue/6th Avenue
-False Creek Rail Line
- Terminal Avenue
-10th Avenue east of Yukon
-8th Avenue west of Ash

The locations that remain, as shown in Appendix D, would receive a more detailed evaluation to determine a short list. Evaluation criteria should include the "fit" within the corridor, impacts on residents and businesses, the cost, public acceptance, noise, utility relocation and others.

CONCLUSION

This review and the development of a list of alignment options has been prepared as advice to the LRT Project Team. Subsequent assessment will result in the development of a short list of options for detailed review.

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APPENDIX A

PROPOSED PRINCIPLES FOR LRT PLANNING IN VANCOUVER:

Principle 1: Supply a High Level of Transit Service. The LRT system should provide transit services to meet existing and expected growth, as detailed in the Vancouver Transportation Plan and Transport 2021. LRT ridership capacity and service should be provided to help to meet the mode split targets set out in the Transportation Plan.

Principle 2: Serve the City’s Land Use, Not Shape It: LRT should support the planned development pattern and form of Vancouver’s Broadway Corridor which already provides for significant residential and commercial development. LRT is not intended to justify significant increases in residential densities or significantly alter the City’s land use pattern along the line.

Principle 3: Provide a High Standard of Urban Amenity: LRT should enhance the emerging urban design character and pedestrian amenity of Central Broadway. It should recognize central Broadway as a "Great Street".

Principle 4: Enhance Local Transit Service: In Vancouver, the transit system should provide a high level of local service to supply sufficient capacity to satisfy demand and to encourage transit use. Upon entering Central Broadway, the system should offer closer-spaced stops to encourage frequent use for all kinds of trips.

Principle 5: Linkage to Transit Services: The system must allow for effective connections with existing and future transit services, including future possible LRT extensions to downtown Vancouver, UBC and southern communities.

Principle 6: Minimize and Mitigate Impacts: Adverse community, pedestrian and traffic impacts should be minimized, and the cost of impact mitigation should be included in overall project costs. Evaluate the magnitude of and rationalize the displacement of local, circulating and through traffic on Broadway and north-south streets.

Principle 7: Provide for Meaningful Involvement of Affected Parties: The public consultation process should address the different ways that communities and other stakeholders may be affected by implementation of LRT in the City of Vancouver.

Principle 8: A Collaborative City Role: The preferred working relationship between the LRT project and the City is viewed as one that will permit timely and thorough City involvement in planning for and review of LRT route options and selection of a preferred option.

Principle 9: Minimize the Impacts of Construction: A project of this magnitude will take several years to construct with the potential for impacts on adjoining land use and traffic. A plan is required to minimize this disruption.

Electronic copies of Appendices B, C and D are not available. Hard copies of these appendices are available from the Office of the City Clerk.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver