ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: July 2, 1998

Author/Local: Wayne Pledger/7346

CC File No. 5559

TO:	City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services, Director of City Plans and Director of Central Area Planning
SUBJECT:	Vancouver-Richmond Rapidbus - Priority Measures

RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT Council approve the Vancouver Richmond Rapidbus routing and station locations shown in Figure 1, with the exception of the use of Nelson Street between Burrard and Howe Streets with a stop on Nelson between Burrard and Howe Streets (Figure 7)

B.THAT Council approve the recommended revised transit priority measures as described in Appendix A. (Note: consideration items 2(b) and 11(b)).

C.THAT the Rapidbus routing in the downtown, including the continued use of bus lanes, be reviewed as part of the development of the Downtown Transportation Plan.

D.THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services be directed to report back on the provision of parking bays on the north side of 70th Ave between Granville and Cornish to provide up to 9 additional parking spaces for the Marpole business district.

E.THAT the Chief Constable and the Province (via Photo Radar) be requested to pursue speed enforcement efforts more aggressively on Granville Street.

F.THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services and Director of City Plans report back on possible additional pedestrian priority measures in the Marpole and South Granville retail areas.

G.THAT the General Manager of Engineering Services monitor parking in the residential neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the Rapidbus stops at 25th, 41st, and 49th Avenues and report back, with recommendations on appropriate parking control measures should non-local parking begin to occur.

H.THAT Engineering and Planning staff meet with BC Transit and report back on the potential for providing express bus services on other arterials in the City including relocating some of the remaining express bus services from Richmond, Delta and White Rock to Cambie and Oak Streets.

I.THAT the Province be reminded that Council has not supported a Granville alignment for rapid transit between Richmond and downtown Vancouver.

COMMENTS OF THE GENERAL MANAGER OF ENGINEERING SERVICES AND THE GENERAL MANAGER OF COMMUNITY SERVICES

Improving transit to accommodate increased transportation demand is a fundamental element of the Vancouver Transportation Plan. The Vancouver-Richmond Rapidbus proposal by BC Transit is an important project that should proceed. The revised priority measures reflect an improved understanding of the need for balance between the sometimes competing objectives of reduced auto dependency, increased transit service, and the maintenance of viable communities and neighbourhood centres, all of which are significant principles both in CityPlan and the Transportation Plan. The revised priority measures significantly reduce the Rapidbus service impact on the adjacent neighbourhoods and commercial centres.

POLICY

When the HOV lane was introduced, the City asked BC Transit to improve the Fast Buses. Council approved the City Transportation Plan in 1997. There are many policies within this Plan that are applicable to this matter. The following are some of the more relevant ones:

-The existing network of arterial streets in the City will generally not be expanded.

-Transit will be given greater priority to meet the needs of increasing demand for transportation across the City, especially in peak times and for journeys to and within the downtown.

-Transit priority measures to speed up buses will be provided as needed. Measures mayinclude queue jumpers and bus priority at some traffic signals.

-The City supports the development of a grid of express bus routes throughout the City.

-The increase in peak period trips to the downtown should be accommodated by a major expansion in transit ... including improved services from Richmond, initially Rapidbus and eventually LRT,...

-The City supports improved transit access to the Airport for employees and visitors by extension of regular local bus services and the new Rapidbus along Granville Street to the airport.

-Pedestrian priority areas will be identified in neighbourhood centres where pedestrian environments are to be especially encouraged.

SUMMARY

BC Transit has proposed to implement an enhanced express bus service, called Rapidbus, between downtown Vancouver and downtown Richmond (See Figure 1). This service will replace six of the existing eight express bus routes that now operate between Vancouver and Richmond.

Rapidbus will use new low-floor, fully accessible articulated buses with prepaid fares and "Real time" indication of when the next bus arrives will be available at the bus stops. Unlike the existing express services, Rapidbus will pick up and drop off passengers in Vancouver, enhancing the existing local trolley bus on Granville.

An important element of the Rapidbus concept is the ability to provide the public with a reliable and timely service that arrives on schedule with no bunching of buses. To achieve this, BC Transit originally proposed a series of priority measures that would provide rapid bus with a largely exclusive curb lane. However the public along Granville were opposed to this level of priority as it would significantly disrupt access to adjoining properties and eliminate parking.

In response, and after a more detailed study, BC Transit has significantly reduced the priority needed to operate Rapidbus successfully. As well, staff and Transit have identified a number of alternative parking spaces to offset those that are lost. Staff support this more balanced set of measures and recommend Council approval.

Staff and BC Transit also reviewed the potential use of Cambie, Oak and an alternate route option in the downtown. On balance, Transit’s original routing is supported except for the use of Nelson Street rather than a counter flow bus lane on Smithe. Nonetheless, the City will be undertaking the development of a downtown transportation plan, which may propose changes to the routing.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend a revised series of transit priority measures along Granville Street and in the downtown to facilitate the proposed Vancouver - Richmond Rapidbus. The report also addresses other issues that have arisen since BC Transit’s presentation to the City in December 1997.

BACKGROUND

In 1989 and again on June 24, 1998 the Provincial Government announced that a rapid transit line would be built between Richmond and Vancouver. A technical study in 1991 reviewed the major north south arterial streets between, and including Main Street and Arbutus. The study eliminated Granville, Oak and Main Street as options. The study further concluded that Cambie was the preferred option. The Regional transportation plan, Transport 2021, confirmed that LRT to Richmond would be necessary and assumed it would be built by 2006.

In April 1994, City Council recommended that new express bus services be implemented on Granville and Broadway as soon as possible.

In 1995, BC Transit announced a 10 year development plan. Rapidbus services were proposed for Granville. Rapid Transit to Richmond was a longer term proposal.

In May 1995, City Council approved a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane on Granville Street through Marpole subject to express bus service being available to Marpole residents and shoppers, at the one-zone fare level.

Technical work on the Rapidbus concept along the Granville corridor proceeded through 1995 and 1996, but funding of the Project was not completely in place until recently.

The #99 B-line express service began operation on Broadway between UBC and Lougheed Mall in September 1996.

RAPIDBUS PROPOSAL

BC Transit initially presented the Rapidbus concept between Richmond and downtown Vancouver via Granville to City Council on May 13, 1997 (see Figure 1). At that time, City Council recommended as much of the project as possible be completed by 1998. On December 11, 1997 BC Transit presented an extensive set of priority measures that would provide a very significant benefit to buses, but would have had substantial impacts on neighbourhoods and shopping areas. Council requested a thorough public review process.

Subsequently, BC Transit initiated meetings with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and the Downtown Vancouver Association, South Granville merchants and Marpole merchants to discuss the Project and the priority measures. The reaction in meetings held in the downtown was generally favourable to the Project. However, south of False Creek, all stakeholders, including many residents who lived on Granville, were opposed to the priority measures, particularly the proposed loss of parking full time during critical business periods.

BC Transit provided Council with a status report of the Project on March 3, 1998. At that time, BC Transit advised it was pausing in the public process so it could collect more technical information on travel times and points of delay along Granville. This would enable Transit to better define what priority measures would be required to provide an acceptable Rapidbus service while, at the same time, having minimal impact on the surrounding community. In the meantime, various stakeholder groups along Granville Street formed under one umbrella group, the Granville Community Association.

In June, BC Transit met again with the various stakeholders along Granville and in the downtown to discuss a revised set of priority measures. The Downtown Vancouver BIA and the Downtown Vancouver Association supported the Rapidbus proposal, noting their preference for Nelson over Transit’s proposal for a counterflow bus lane on Smithe.

The Marpole and South Granville merchants groups indicated they were not prepared to comment on BC Transit’s most recent proposal. Rather, they deferred to the recently formed Granville Community Association for a position. The GCA, as well, was not prepared to comment on specific priority measures but took the position of generally questioning the need for Rapidbus and all the elements of the proposal that might impact Granville Street. Further, the GCA maintained that the majority of existing region-serving express buses on Granville should be rerouted to Cambie and Oak so there was an equal balance of buses (and hence impact) among the three streets.

In the months since BC Transit proposal was announced, the City has received many letters from concerned residents and merchants. The letters have been distributed to Council and are on file in the City Clerk’s Office.

WHAT IS RAPIDBUS?

The existing express bus services between the suburbs and downtown Vancouver only serve passengers from the suburban municipalities.

Typically, express buses inbound into Vancouver pick up residents in the outlying suburbs and drop them off within Vancouver, at major transfer points, as they head into downtown Vancouver. These buses do not pick up passengers in Vancouver. The reverse happensleaving Vancouver for the suburbs. Buses pick up passengers in the outbound direction, but do not drop off passengers. As a result, these buses do not serve passengers in Vancouver as they travel between downtown and residential areas. Vancouver residents only have access to these buses at major transfer points if they commute to outlying suburbs. This service is limited as many peak period buses return empty to the suburbs in the morning and into downtown Vancouver in the afternoon. One result of this is that it takes longer to get downtown from Marpole than from Richmond.

More recently, the #99 B-Line has presented a better picture of what express buses can do. This service uses articulated buses with limited stops, but full access at all stops. Service operates well in the peak periods when parking is removed along portions of Broadway. Reliability drops off in the midday as parking is provided and congestion increases along Broadway. Initial ridership was about 10,000 per day. Present ridership is in the order of 15,000 per day. A 97/98 survey of passengers concluded that in the order of 20% had switched to the 99 B-line from cars.

The Rapidbus concept was developed as an improvement over the existing express bus services that operate into the downtown and goes beyond what the #99 B-line service between Lougheed Mall and UBC on Broadway provides.

Rapidbus service will use low floor, fully accessible articulated buses (See Figure 2). Rapidbuses will stop in Richmond at major bus transfer points in Vancouver, and at key locations in the downtown and will pick up and drop off passengers in Vancouver, unlike the existing express bus services. Passengers will pay their fares at the bus stop (not on the bus - See Figure 3) and enter and leave the buses from any of the three doors. The honour system will apply, similar to SkyTrain, with random fare checks made. Real-time indication of the next bus arrival will be available at the bus stops. Rapidbus is viewed as a precursor to rail rapid transit between Richmond and Vancouver, but the choice of Granville for Rapidbus does not constitute support for Granville as the rapid transit route (Recommendation I).

A reliable and timely service will be assisted through transit priority measures, which will allow the buses some advantage over general purpose traffic. In Richmond, buses will operate on exclusive bus lanes for a portion of No. 3 Road. In Vancouver, the priority measures would include limited parking removal, restricting turns at key intersections, and giving buses that are behind schedule a few extra seconds of "green time" to make the light, if they are in the vicinity of a traffic signal.

At present, express bus service is provided between downtown Vancouver and Richmond, Delta and White Rock. The proposed Rapidbus service would replace six of the eight express bus routes that operate from Richmond. BC Transit plans that express bus services from Delta and White Rock (as well as two routes from Richmond) would continue tooperate as they have, accessing downtown Vancouver via the Oak Street bridge and Granville Street.

The Province recently announced that rail rapid transit between Vancouver and Richmond will be under active study and would provide the opportunity to replace Rapidbus service in the future.

PROPOSED TRANSIT PRIORITY MEASURES

The purpose of the transit priority measures are to:

1.Make buses more competitive with automobiles, on a travel-time basis.

2.Provide a more reliable service. Buses are able to avoid congestion and hence able to stay on schedule better. Bunching of buses is minimized.

3.Convey a tangible message to commuters of the benefits of transit.

BC Transit original proposal included significant new parking restrictions and exclusive bus lanes between the Laing Bridge and the Granville Bridge and within the Downtown area. Various stakeholders expressed significant concern with these measures and the impact they would have on their community. In response, BC Transit prepared more detailed studies to better understand where, along the corridor, the delays were occurring. Based on this additional work BC Transit has been able to drop most of its original requirements.

Relative to the initial proposal, impacts have been greatly reduced. Initial parking loss in excess of 200 spaces has been reduced to 24 in Marpole, 13 in South Granville and 15 downtown, with replacements identified in all cases. Approximately 10 km of proposed bus lane have been reduced to a short northbound lane from 72nd to 70th and in the downtown on Seymour and Howe Streets. Buses will be subject to the same speed limits as other traffic and no pavement widening is proposed.

City staff have reviewed this most recent proposal and recommend the proposed set of priority measures be approved. A summary of these are shown below. The details of the various priority measures are outlined in Appendix A.

Summary of Priority Measures

Marpole (Figure 4)

1.Removal of 24 parking spaces (mostly on the east side of Granville) and implementation of a northbound bus lane between the Laing Bridge and 70th Ave. This parking loss can be offset by signing time-limited parking in the lane east of Granville and on the adjoining cross streets, by providing a pedestrian signal on Granville at 71st to make it easier to cross Granville to access parking on the west side and by the provision of a parking bay on the north side of 70th Ave between Granvillle and Cornish. SeeAppendix A for the parking replacement plan. Staff are recommending a report back (Recommendation D) on the widening of 70th Avenue to provide parking. BC Transit has indicated a willingness to pay for the construction costs but not for land costs.

2.New traffic signal on westbound SW Marine Drive at the Laing Bridge off ramp to allow Rapidbuses coming off the Laing Bridge access to the curb bus lane northbound on Granville.

3.Signal priority for southbound buses at the existing signal at Milton, approaching the Laing bridge.

4.Extension of the southbound parking and HOV restrictions from the present 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. from 63rd to Milton. Travel time studies have confirmed that parkers just after 6:00 p.m. considerably reduce bus capacity. On Oak Street, south of Park, for example, PM prohibitions have been extended to 7:00 p.m. for this reason. BC Transit had originally asked for HOV treatment to remain until 7:00 p.m., but has reduced this to 6:30 p.m. because of concerns from businesses. (Note: Appendix A recommendation 2(a) and consideration 2(b).)

64th Ave to 16th Ave. (Figure 5)

1.Removal of 3 parking spaces on southbound Granville south of the bus stop at 41st Ave, to assist buses pulling away from the stop, and 8 spaces southbound at 57th Ave between 9:30 am and 6 pm, to provide improved bus flow around left-turning vehicles at 57th Ave.

2.Restriction of turns in the peak periods in both directions at 57th Ave and 49th Ave, and 33rd Ave. Turns are allowed at 41st Ave., Park Drive (southbound) and King Edward (southbound).

South Granville (Figure 6)

1.Removal of 9 parking spaces on Granville in the vicinity of Broadway. Restriction of 4 spaces on the west side of Granville north of 16th in the morning peak period. Replacement parking can be provided on 10th Ave and Broadway between Granville and Fir (approx. 6 new spaces on 10th Ave and 10 restored spaces on Broadway after construction on the School Board site) as well as conversion of some full-time parking on the cross streets to meters to increase turnover. In addition, off-street spaces on the School Board site and on the planned 5th Avenue, will add to parking supply in the near future.

2.Restriction of turns between the Granville Bridge and 15th Ave all day (7-6 p.m.). Alternative access to the cross streets within the shopping district is available from Fir and Hemlock for those who previously turned left from Granville. There are business concerns regarding the reduction in access (See Actions in Appendix A - 11 a and b).

Downtown (Figure 7)

1.Removal of 15 spaces within the downtown to improve traffic flow at congestion points, at the approach to key traffic signals, and at the approach to the bus stop at Burrard Station. A sufficient number of replacement spaces have been identified and will become available in the new City parking structure on the Bentall 5 site.

2.Installation of a new signal at Cordova and Burrard to facilitate left turns from westbound Cordova to southbound Burrard.

3. Signal priority at various signals in the downtown.

4.Bus lanes on the west side of Howe between Nelson and Davie and on the east side of Seymour between Davie and Robson. Presently no parking is provided during the day in these locations. (These streets previously had bus lanes in effect, while Granville Mall was under construction.)

OTHER ISSUES

A. Alternative Routes

A number of requests to examine alternative route options emerged at, and subsequent to, the December 1997 Council meeting. These included using Cambie and Oak Streets, as well as two other route options in the downtown.

After the first round of meetings with the stakeholders, BC Transit concluded it would be necessary to collect more travel and delay information on Granville in order to make a decision on priority measures on Granville. To be able to respond technically to the alternative route requests, the scope of the data collection contract was expanded to collect information on Cambie, Oak and the alternative route options in the downtown.

Cambie/Oak

The use of Cambie and Oak as alternative Rapidbus routes to Granville was reviewed for technical merit.

BC Transit’s 1991 Vancouver-Richmond Rapid Transit study concluded that SkyTrain on Cambie was technically superior to conventional LRT on Arbutus. One reason was thehigher ridership generated by the higher capacity and faster SkyTrain service on Cambie over conventional light rail on Arbutus. The various major land uses on Cambie, including Langara College, higher density residential pockets, Oakridge Shopping Centre, the nearby hospitals and the Central Broadway area support the Cambie option. The distance between Vancouver and Richmond was also shorter via a new bridge over the Fraser River at Cambie. In the 1991 study, Granville, Oak and Main Street dropped away as not being viable rail rapid transit options.

On the other hand, considering bus transit and not LRT, existing transit ridership patterns, the closer proximity to UBC and better service coverage of the downtown support the use of Granville Street over Cambie. There would be an advantage in having a serviceable Rapidbus route operating while rapid transit is constructed on another right-of-way.

More current data shows that Granville and Cambie have roughly the same number of employment and population within 400 metres of Rapidbus stops, but that Oak Street has approximately double the population and employment. In terms of impact on adjoining land uses, Oak and Cambie both have more institutional and park uses and less street-oriented neighbourhood commercial uses than Granville.

The travel times on Cambie and Granville between the Laing Bridge and the downtown, without priority measures, are about the same. The travel time via Oak street is marginally longer.

A more detailed review by BC Transit revealed that delays along Granville at various times of the day were fairly consistent, and were confined to a few key locations. As such, priority measures to provide the desired level of service could be confined to these few locations. Delays along Cambie were less consistent over the day and were more numerous than Granville. Therefore, the priority measures, particularly the removal of parking, to achieve a similar level of service to Granville would have to be more comprehensive. Oak Street was found to not be operationally feasible given the higher travel time and higher level of unreliability associated with this route.

It was concluded that there was no technical reason why Cambie or Oak would be preferred as alternate routes for the Rapidbus. Notwithstanding, there is a clear need to significantly improve the level and type of transit service along all bus routes in the City. Therefore, staff recommend a further examination of opportunities to provide express bus service on Cambie Street and possibly Oak Street (given the number of activity centre and residential opportunities that exist along these corridors), possibly using some of the remaining express bus services operating between the downtown and south of the Fraser River.

Downtown

The two route options that were examined in detail in the downtown are shown in Figure 7 (Transit’s preferred option) and Figure 8 (Route Option B).

BC Transit’s preferred route uses Seymour (inbound), Cordova, Burrard, Smithe, and Howe (outbound), all existing well defined downtown arterial and transit streets. Bus stops are immediately adjacent to three SkyTrain stations and the route generally avoids potentially troublesome congested streets. A counter-flow bus lane would be required on Smithe.

The alternative route (Figure 8) was proposed in response to the high number of parking spaces that Transit originally recommended be removed on its preferred route. This alternative route would avoid the use of Seymour Street north of the Granville Bridge, an emerging residential area, reach the Golden Triangle area of the downtown first, and cover a broader area of the downtown.

From a service coverage perspective, the alternative route has a marginally wider service coverage area including directly serving the Wall Centre, St. Pauls Hospital and the northern part of Richards Street. On the other hand, the bus stops at Waterfront Station and Burrard Station are across the street from SkyTrain and SeaBus entrances.

The travel times for both options are about the same without priority measures. However, to maintain a similar level of reliability on the alternative route, BC Transit’s consultant recommended eliminating in the order of 30 to 40 more parking spaces. The alternative routing using Davie Street between Granville and Burrard is problematic, especially in the afternoon, when it can become very congested.

It was concluded that BC Transit’s preferred option (Figure 7) was generally acceptable now as an interim routing. However, recognizing that significant land use change is anticipated, this route should be reviewed as part of a downtown transportation plan. The development of this plan will include a review of the role of all the streets in the downtown and their relationship to the existing and emerging land uses. Staff recommended BC Transit’s preferred option be approved now but that the Rapidbus route and the various proposed priority measures be reviewed as part of a downtown transportation plan and the changing face of the downtown (Recommendation C). BC Transit may wish to design their Rapidbus stops in a manner that allows for easy relocation.

Smithe vs Nelson

Transit’s option includes a counter-flow bus lane on Smithe between Burrard and Howe Street (See Figure 7). This allows for a bus stop on Smithe between Howe and Hornby, underneath the Law Courts canopy over Smithe. A stop at this location is equi-distant between the stops at Burrard Station and on Howe at Davie. This stop also directly serves the Law Courts and is two blocks from Granville Mall.

The counter-flow bus lane requires some widening of Smithe Street in this area and reduces the capacity of Smithe between Howe and Burrard. A capacity analysis and transportation computer model run of this proposal has concluded the impact on Smithe (through increased congestion in the westbound direction) could be accepted, as many of the trips destined to the Lions Gate Bridge or the Golden Triangle area of the downtown would redistribute themselves on other downtown streets. However, since Smithe Street was intended to divert traffic away from the pedestrian core, this may not be a desirable result.

Routing via Nelson Street, with a stop between Burrard and Howe, on the other hand, better serves the Wall Centre/St Paul’s Hospital precinct and the edge of the West End. The increase in congestion on Burrard to accommodate the Rapidbus turn from Burrard to Nelson would be less than what could happen at Smithe.

The tradeoffs that have to be made include:

1.Smithe is a better location for waiting transit customers (although all Rapidbus stops will include weather protection).

2. Smithe is better operationally for transit.

3. Smithe could be more congested than Burrard.

4.Smithe involves construction and potential property acquisition costs (to BC Transit).

5.Stops at Smithe and Nelson have a common zone of coverage. Outside this common zone, a Nelson stop better serves the convention facilities at Wall Centre and St. Pauls Hospital. The Smithe stop better serves the Robson Square, Eatons and Granville Mall.

6.The BC Building Corporation does not support the use of Smithe Street because of the loss of direct loading and passenger facilities. These functions would have to be relocated around the corner onto either Hornby and/or Howe Streets. There is also a concern with the impacts of large numbers of transit passengers on their facility.

The Downtown BIA and the Downtown Vancouver Association support the use of Nelson over Smithe, primarily because of the effects on Smithe Street.

BC Transit has concluded the best route from a customer and bus operational perspective is Smithe Street. City staff recommend the use of Nelson over Smithe as it avoids increased congestion on Smithe Street and better serves the Wall Convention facilities and St. Paul’s Hospital. As well, using Nelson avoids significant street changes that may not be supported after the downtown transportation plan is complete.

B.Granville Community Association Concerns

The Granville Community Association (GCA) was formed subsequent to the initial round of meetings between BC Transit and the Marpole and South Granville merchants. The Marpole and South Granville Merchants and many of the residents along Granville are now represented by the GCA.

BC Transit and City staff have met with the merchants groups and the GCA to discuss Transit’s revised proposal. The GCA is concerned that many issues remain unanswered including safety concerns, lack of understanding of the economic, social and environmental impacts of the proposal, lack of study of alternate routings and concern that this proposal is only the beginning of a very significant increase in the number of buses on Granville Street. See attached letters from the Granville Community Association, attached as Appendix B and the South Granville Business Association, attached as Appendix C.

C.Public Process

The public process within Vancouver was difficult. There was no productive working relationship between BC Transit and the stakeholders, nor was there a mutually agreeable set of priority measures that would work for both the stakeholders and BC Transit.

The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority will be responsible for future transit improvements in the Region. This body will be more locally accountable and so future public processes should reflect this accountability and hopefully, will be more successful.

A number of concerns emerged from meetings with the stakeholders that should be addressed. These include:

1.Pedestrian safety on Granville and crossing Granville, particularly within the retail areas.

The Transportation Plan identifies Granville Street as a major transit corridor, as well as identifying the two commercial neighbourhoods on Granville which have the potential for increased pedestrian priority. Implementing these potentially competing priorities requires sensitivity and tradeoffs.

BC Transit’s original proposal to remove virtually all parking in the peak periods on both sides of Granville was a major concern to merchants and residents. They were concerned that speeding buses and increased difficulties in crossing Granville would lead to pedestrian accidents. The more recent proposal addresses these concerns by minimizing the parking loss. Staff will be reviewing the crossing times provided at the pedestrian signals and opportunities for additional marked crosswalks, with a view to improving pedestrian safety. Notwithstanding, staff are recommending a report back on possible further pedestrian priority measures for Marpole and South Granville (Recommendation F).

2.Speeding on Granville Street

Speeding on the major arterials in the City is problematic. Staff are recommending that the Police and the Provincial photo radar unit increase their presence on GranvilleStreet (Recommendation E).

3.Non local parking on the streets surrounding local Rapidbus stops.

Residents around the bus stops at King Edward, 41st and 49th Avenues expressed concern that some people may park and ride in their communities. Staff recommend that parking around these stops be monitored, and reported back with options if problems emerge (Recommendation G).

CONCLUSIONS

The Rapidbus proposal is an important next step prior to rapid transit, in improving the level of transit service between Vancouver and Richmond.

The revised set of priority measures is significantly less than originally proposed by BC Transit, and Transit is confident they will provide an acceptable level of reliability and a timely service. At the same time, impacts on the adjacent land use are now minimized.

The priority measure that has the most impact on the adjacent neighbourhood is the removal of 20 parking spaces on the east side of Granville between the Laing Bridge and 70th Ave. and creation of a bus lane. However, this is the most congested portion of the route and the bus lane from the bridge to the stop at 70th is most critical. Up to 15 spaces have been identified to replace these spaces.

The final proposed priority measures recommended by BC Transit and supported by City staff achieve a good balance between the role of Granville as a major arterial street, one which must serve a major City and Regional transportation function and a street that must provide parking and access for the adjoining businesses and residents.

* * * * *

APPENDIX A

SUMMARY OF TRANSIT PRIORITY MEASURES

MARPOLE

Removal of parking to either provide more street capacity for all traffic, or exclusively for Rapidbus,

The recommended parking restrictions include:

1.Day-time (6:30 am - 6:30 p.m.) removal of 20 parking spaces (11 in front of businesses and 9 in front of residential properties) in the northbound direction from the Arthur Laing Bridge to the bus stop at 70th Ave. See Figure 4.

These spaces will provide for an exclusive bus lane between the Laing Bridge and the Rapidbus stop south of 70th Ave. and for the Rapidbus stop itself. This includes the permanent removal of two parking stalls north of the bus stop north of 70th to make it easier for buses to pull out into traffic.

Day-time (6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.) removal of 4 parking spaces in the southbound direction, north of 70th Ave. This will free up the curb lane approach to 70th Ave. to accommodate the Rapidbus approach to the bus stop south of the intersection and right turning vehicles from Granville to 70th Ave.

RECOMMENDATION

2a.The HOV lane will continue to operate in the afternoon rush hour period but extended from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

CONSIDERATION

2b.Marpole merchants have requested that HOV parking restrictions end at 6:00 p.m. to permit business-related parking. Staff note that this could add significant delays to Rapidbus passengers and that businesses south of 70th generally have their own parking. An alternate motion is presented for consideration:

THAT the evening peak parking restrictions in Marpole be extended to 6:30 p.m. south of 70th Avenue only.

Offsetting Parking

Staff have reviewed the available parking supply in the vicinity of Granville where the parking is being removed and recommend the following changes be made to offset this parking loss:

i. Report back on the potential to widen the north side of 70th Ave between Granville and Cornish to recover 9 parking spaces.

iiProvide 6 spaces in the lane east of Granville behind the Shell Station, north of 71st Ave.

iiiChange 6 spaces on 71st and 4 spaces on 72nd by from unrestricted parking to "time limited" parking.

Turn restrictions at key locations

None are planned for the Marpole area

Traffic signal adjustments

4.A queue jumper signal is recommended for the Laing Bridge. A Rapidbus on the off ramp of the bridge, approaching Marine Drive/Granville Street will be detected. This in turn will trigger a traffic signal to briefly stop westbound vehicles on Marine Drive, adjacent the Laing Bridge thus creating a gap to allow the Rapidbus to access the bus lane from the Laing Bridge to the stop at 70th Ave.

5.A new pedestrian signal is recommended for Granville and 71st to provide safer access between the parking on the west side of the Granville and the businesses on the east side.

6.The full traffic signal at Milton and Granville (north end of the Laing Bridge) will be provided with an advance green in the southbound direction to allow Rapidbuses priority over other southbound traffic approaching the Laing Bridge and Marine Drive. The pedestrian signals at 63rd, 64th and 68th and proposed new pedestrian signal at 71st Avenue will have the capability of having their "green time" extended by 5 seconds to accomodate late running buses. This ability does not diminish the pedestrian crossing time in any way.

GRANVILLE: 64TH AVE TO 16TH AVE

Parking restrictions

7.BC Transit originally recommended all day bus lanes along Granville between 64th and 16th Avenues. BC Transit is now recommending only 3 parking spots be removed on the west side of Granville south of the bus stop at 41st Ave. to improve the pullout for the buses. No offset parking replacement is recommended as full time parking remains on Granville further south of the stop. It is also recommended that 8 parking spots on the west side of Granville at 57th Ave be removed between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. to provide improved traffic flow at 57th Ave.

Turn restrictions

8.Turn restrictions are recommended at 33rd, 49th and 57th during the peak periods in both directions. Traffic counts done at these intersections indicate only about 30 vehicles per hour turn (or about 1 per every 2 signal cycles). This results in a very uneven distribution of vehicles between the remaining two traffic lanes. Prohibiting these turns will result in a more even distribution thereby reducing the amount of general purpose traffic in the curb lane.

Turns will still be allowed in both directions at 41st Ave, 25th Ave (southbound) and Park Drive (southbound). A left turn advance is operational at 41st Ave southbound, and will be implemented at 41st northbound in the Fall. If this is not convenient for some drivers, they may choose to take a parallel arterial (such as Oak or Arbutus), or turn at a local street. The numbers of vehicles turning are small so the impacts should not be noticed, including those turning on local streets.

Traffic Signal Priority

9.The green time on Granville for the signals at 33rd, 49th, and 57th Avenues will be capable of being extended by 5 seconds for late running buses.

GRANVILLE BETWEEN 16TH AVE AND THE GRANVILLE BRIDGE

Parking Restrictions

Presently, parking is removed in the peak period peak direction. BC Transit originally recommended the parking be removed in the peak periods in the off-peak direction as well and the time period be extended.

10.The existing proposal (see Figure 6) is to permanently remove 9 parking spaces:

i.3 parking spaces in the northbound direction north of 10th Ave to provide sufficient space for the Rapidbus to pull into the bus stop.

ii.3 parking spaces in the southbound direction north of Broadway to provide a longer curb lane to accommodate right turns from southbound Granville to westbound Broadway. A longer, cleared curb lane will now be able to accommodate two turning trolley buses.

iii.3 parking spaces in the southbound direction north of 10th Ave. to accommodate the Rapidbus stop and provide sufficient pullout into the traffic lane.

iv.4 spaces on the west side of Granville, north of 16th in the morning peak period 7-9:30 to allow Rapidbus access to the curb lane, starting up the hill from 16th Ave.

Offsetting parking

A number of opportunities exist in the area to replace lost parking. This includes:

i.The City will be widening 10th Ave between Fir and Granville as part of the street work associated with the School Board site. This will provide 6 spaces.

ii.The eastbound curb lane of Broadway, adjacent the School Board site has been occupied by construction equipment. When construction is complete 10 metered spaces will be provided during the midday.

iii.A small number of parking spaces on the cross streets have been identified as candidates for conversion to metering or time-limited which then are more accessible to local customer parking.

Turn restrictions

RECOMMENDATION

11a.BC Transit recommends turns be restricted at the cross streets between the bridge and 16th Ave. but not including 16th Ave, in both directions.

At present, there are in the order of about 20 turns per hour at the local cross streets between the bridge and 15th Ave. Less than half of these vehicles would appear to be directly destined to the shopping district. The remainder disappear into the local community, or beyond. The number of vehicles, while small in number, have the effect of forcing most of the through traffic into the one remaining through lane during the midday. The purpose of the turn restriction will be to equalize the distribution of vehicles between the two moving lanes in each direction in the midday and three moving lanes in the peak period (peak direction).

Implementation of the turn restrictions will require vehicle drivers to make different decisions than they do now on how to reach and park in the South Granville area. It is fortunate that Fir and Hemlock Streets, two parallel arterials, exist only one block away to facilitate these decisions and that Granville Street has many signals to facilitate crossing. The use of these arterials will enable motorists to reach their destinations in about the same time as they do now. Directional signage will be improved.

CONSIDERATION

11b.The merchants are not supportive of the turn restrictions. They are concerned that the turn restrictions will initially increase the speed of traffic along Granville (which is a significant worry for them) and therefore will attract even more traffic to the street. They have also concluded that in the longer term the increased traffic will only result in the same level of congestion that exists today.

Technical studies have shown that limiting locations where left turns can be allowed does not solve the problem - the entire lane will still be lost, however, allowing left turns at unsignalized locations would be less disruptive when peak period parking restrictions are in effect. Allowing left turns at minor intersections in both directionsbetween 7:00 - 9:30 would allow delivery access to stores. Allowing southbound left turns at minor intersections after 3:00 p.m. would also allow access during periods of peak traffic flows. Left turn prohibitions at Broadway are imperative, as well as minor streets during the day.

An alternate motion is presented for consideration:

THAT left turns at minor streets in South Granville continue to be permitted before 9:30 a.m. and southbound after 3:00 p.m.

Signal Priority

12.All the signals except at Broadway will be subject to adjustment of up to five extra seconds of green time on Granville for those buses that are behind schedule and in the 5 second window. In addition, the northbound and southbound signals at Broadway will have right turn arrows installed to match the left turn arrows from Broadway to Granville to facilitate right turns at no cost to pedestrian crossing time.

DOWNTOWN

Parking Restrictions

13.The parking restrictions are shown in Figure 7 and include:

i.Permanently removing 7 metered spaces and 1 loading bay on the West side of Seymour between Georgia and Cordova to generally reduce traffic delay at the approach to key intersections where delay is occurring.

ii.Removing 5 spaces on the north side of Cordova east of Burrard to create a two lane approach to a new signal at Cordova and Burrard.

iii.Removing 3 space on Burrard north of Dunsmuir to facilitate buses pulling into the bus stop adjacent the Burrard SkyTrain Station.

These restrictions are a significant reduction over the original proposal. The DVA and DVBIA are supportive of these measures.

Turn Restrictions

No changes to the existing turn restrictions are planned for the in the downtown.

Signal Priority

14.A new signal will be installed at Burrard and Cordova to facilitate the west to south turn. The signal at Nelson and Burrard will be modified to include an extended left turn advance.

Bus lanes

15.A bus lane will be installed on the east side of Seymour from Davie Street to Robson until such time as the curb lane is required for parking for the emerging downtown south residential/retail area.

A bus lane will be installed on the west side of Howe from Nelson to Davie Street to facilitate bus movements in this area. Right turning vehicles accessing streets or driveways will be allowed in the bus lane.

NOTE: ELECTRONIC COPIES OF APPENDIX B AND C AND FIGURES 1-8 NOT AVAILABLE - ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver